Wolves
by Ezra.J.Clarke
Summary: A supernatural werewolf story. Beca Mitchell is the leader of her pack and she's doing her best to give them their best life. Things get complicated. A rewrite of pitch-perfect one, sort of. With Wolves.
1. Chapter 1 - A Normal Life

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The pack was fresh of a long month of traveling from Maine to Georgia with nothing but each other. It had been a long journey, but it was good for a new pack. They worked on building strong skills together to strengthen their bond. They hunted together and slept together. Along the way, they learned to better recognize each other's scents, as well as the scent of their Alpha. They were figuring out each other's signals for what they needed and when there was danger nearby. By the end of it, they could talk to each other without having to speak at all. They knew one another's transformations, their eye colors, triggers, and weaknesses. With a physical touch, they could feel each other's emotions and their pain. The group was getting stronger by the day. Now they were in a new town with a new fully furnished apartment, ready to start their new lives together in Atlanta.

Growing up, Beca Mitchell always considered herself something of a lone wolf. Which made getting ready for her first day of college a bit puzzling in and of itself. But then again, everything had been a bit complicated since she presented as an Alpha on her sixteenth year and was expected to lead a pack of her own. It was a bit hard, but Beca was a quick learner. And it wasn't all as bad as she thought. She was a pretty good leader and it turned out she didn't need to have a pack of fifty like her mother. She was much more comfortable with a few wolves whom she could be close to.

All that being said, on her eighteenth birthday, she was branded on her shoulder. The brand was a symbol mix of her mother and fathers family crests, as well as some unique additions of her own creation. It was a crescent moon with pink lotuses growing out of the thick of the moon, each of which represented her mother and father's families. Her addition to the brand was a small grasshopper hanging on the bottom tip of the moon. It was a tradition for the alpha to have it branded on their shoulder and to wear it with pride, as Beca did. It was also tradition for each of her pack members to take the brand themselves as they joined the pack. By the time Beca was set on her up on her own course as an Alpha, she had three betas who were willing to follow her.

The first of the Beta's was Stacie Conrad. Stacie had grown up with Beca in her mother's pack. They were practically sisters, mostly because Stacie forced herself into Beca's bubble no matter how hard Beca tried to push her out. After Beca's parents got divorced, the two were nearly inseparable. Beca's near first thought after becoming an alpha was that she and Stacie could have a pack all to themselves. Travel the world, pursue their dreams, All that jazz. But to Beca's surprise, she had more admirers then she could've hoped for. Jesse Swanson was a boy from a neighboring pack who Beca had met by chance on a hunt. He was also a pestering type of friend and eventually, Beca agreed to let him join her pack once she was branded. The third and final Beta to join them was Emily Junk, who to Beca was still a young cub. She was a few years younger than the rest of them, but she looked up to Beca. Beca taught her to hunt and what she should and shouldn't eat. Beca was happy to welcome her aboard. Once Beca was a full fledge Alpha, the small pack set out together, all with brands to match Beca's.

It was Emily's request for the pack to go to Barden. Emily's mom was a part of their acapella competitive team when she was just a cub, which Beca couldn't help but think sounded really lame, but she tried to keep her mouth shut in lieu of hurting Emily's feelings. Stacie wanted to be a medical major and Jesse wanted to study film. Barden offered both and because Beca's dad was a professor there, she didn't have to worry about paying for it. Not that it would've been a problem if she had. Her mother opened her trust fund for her on her eighteenth birthday and the four of them could've gone to college four times each with it before they had a money problem. Since she didn't, Beca paid for an apartment they could stay in while they completed their studies and the pack chose to make the trek on foot... Er, paw. They all considered it their first adventure as a pack. And that all is how Beca found herself doing her makeup in their brand new apartment, preparing for the activities fair and her first day of college.

"So, what're you gonna do?" Stacie asked from the door frame of the bathroom. Beca watched her through the mirror as she put in an industrial piercing.

"What do you mean?" Beca asked, their eyes meeting through the mirror.

"Well, Did you even pick a major? I know you're not excited for college." Stacie pointed out, fixing her curls while she had the mirror in front of her.

"Well, my dad wouldn't have stopped begging me to go if we hadn't anyway and in fact, I did pick a major," Beca knew what Stacie was getting at. Stacie wanted her to enjoy their time at Barden as much as the rest of them would, even if it wasn't her travel choice. If it were up to Beca the pack would've been in Southern California, in Los Angeles. Stacie knew that Beca was only with them now because they were her pack and she wanted to take care of them - even if they could take care of themselves.

"Really? What did you pick?" Stacies eyes lit up with inquiry. In a quick flash, Beca could Stacie's eyes flash from forest green to honey bee yellow. Stacie often had a hard time controlling her emotions and when she had a burst of any strong ones, her wolf shone in her eyes. Beca often nagged her about it, about how they had to keep themselves a secret and the second a human noticed it happening, the second they would have to drop everything and move. They were supernatural and that meant being a secret. Every wolf knew that. For the sake of being in their home, Beca didn't mention it.

"Music business," Beca said simply and unenthused. If anything, Stacie should've known. Beca had been glued to her laptop and mix board since she got it. Though, music business and making music weren't exactly the same thing.

"Really? Music business? Composition and Music business are really close majors. I think we'll have some classes together." Emily appeared in the doorway behind Stacie, trying to put on a shoe while balancing on the other foot. When she lost balance she grabbed onto Stacie and Stacie held her up.

"Maybe," Beca confirmed, turning around to face the girls in the doorway.

"Are you guys ready to go yet?" Jesse was sitting on the couch on his phone, as he had been for the last hour while the rest of them got dressed and put on their makeup.

"It's not our fault all you do to get ready is shower and put on clothes," Stacie rolled her eyes.

"Yes, Swanson we can go," Beca replied, ignoring Stacie's comment as they all made their towards the door, "We just have to go over a few things."

"Don't get caught, don't tell anyone we're wolves, don't do anything stupid. Did I forget anything?" Jesse smirked at Beca and the girls laughed with him.

"Look, I don't want to lecture you guys. You know all that and I trust you. I just want you guys to keep it mind. If anything happens, we can't stay here and I know you guys are excited to be here. I would hate to have to leave." Beca said it all like a true leader. She was a natural at it, as much as she hated it. Fate had a way of goating her into things that she may not have liked but worked out in the end. She loved her pack and she meant what she said. She didn't want to have to uproot their lives again. Atlanta was a great place. Their apartment had a forest nearby. They would have time to train, go to class, and get jobs if they wanted to. It would be a shame to leave before they had a chance to do anything.

"Yes Alpha," The group said it all together like a mantra, but it was more in jokingly than serious. Everyone knew that Beca didn't expect to be called Alpha. It was a long-standing tradition of packs, but she appreciated it as a form of respect.

Jesse opened the door and her pack headed out in front of her. Beca looked around the apartment once more before she left and winced at a small pain burning coming from her shoulder. She checked a second time to make sure everyone was down the hall before she pulled up her sleeve. It was her brand, as bold and new as the day she got it, but something was different. A warmth filled in where the brand was placed and filled her shoulder. A warm, almost burning sensation that was emanating from the symbol of her pack. Beca shook her head and replaced the sleeve over her brand. With any luck it was nothing. But knowing her luck, it was going to come back and bite her in the ass.


	2. Chapter 2 - No Good Luck

The warmth in Beca's shoulder most definitely did not go away. In fact, from the moment they left the apartment, the warmth had gotten so strong that it was nearly burning. And Beca had to do her best to think about anything else so her mind wasn't stuck on the sensation. Beca and Stacie circled the quad in a rather predatory way, slow and steady on the outer rims. Both Emily and Jesse were quick to get flyers for whatever activities interested them the most, while Stacie and Beca weren't exactly the type for after school events. Stacie was more or less a beautiful nerd and Barden's activities didn't suit her interests. Beca, on the other hand, just came to watch her pack and keep them out of trouble, should she need to. The young Alpha had always been cautious. Even at a young age, she took things seriously. Her eyes were always darting around everything to take in her surroundings. The hair on her arms and legs stood straight up when she was getting acquainted with a new area. She took her time with each step, recognizing if anything could be a danger. Realistically, she knew that nothing at Barden was dangerous. It was a university brimming with college students for a new semester. There were no other wolves in sight, just humans. Danger was her inner wolf's first language.

Growing up she had to learn to trust her inner wolf as best she could. It demanded her to protect her pack and take care of them. It demanded her to take control and lead in situations that needed her. Her gut was never wrong and during the adventure from Maine to Georgia, Beca learned that. She trusted it more now than she ever had before. She was a young alpha, but she was learning. And she was lucky to have the betas who trusted her to lead them. Then again, she had a legacy to uphold. Her Family was a well-known line of alphas. They were Alphas that were respected amongst the community and it was that same legacy that Beca had expected to disappoint. She had always felt like the black sheep and because of that, she didn't expect to present as an alpha. But she did and she had no regrets over whatever fates pushed her into it. Fate had a way of doing that. Even when Beca was stubborn.

'See anything interesting?' Stacie was intruding into Beca's thoughts as a way of informing Beca that she was thinking too much. Beca was still getting used to having that kind of a connection and it gave her a scare. Beca looked at Stacie who only raised an eyebrow. On the other side of it, Beca was proud of how easily her pack learned to communicate that way. It helped them in times of need and it showed how strong their bonds had become.

'Not exactly my scene.' Beca nodded back as they passed a Quiddage booth on one side and a Deaf Jews Booth on the other.

Stacie laughed and rolled her eyes, 'Really? I thought you wanted to be a DJ?' It was Beca's turn to laugh as they continued the walk down the brick path.

Beca had to admit that Atlanta was absolutely gorgeous in the fall. The way the trees danced with orange, red, and yellows. The way the air smelled like pumpkin spiced lattes and apple cider. The way the sun didn't come quite as far up as it had in the summer. The way the moon stayed out longer. It wasn't as beautiful as the mountain's in Maine, but it had its own kind of beauty. And if Beca had anything to say about it, she was the luckiest Alpha alive. Her pack didn't want to go across the country to the most known hunting spots in the United States, nor did they want to hike through the tallest mountains. Her small pack just wanted to start by living normal lives, amongst humans. And Beca was most thankful that in this scenario, she could most easily protect them.

That's when the world felt like it stopped. Beca's blood ran cold and her brand burned with even more intensity than she thought possible. Her eyes reverted to the bright red state of her wolf and for just a brief moment, Beca felt like she wasn't in control any longer. Her wolf was dying to come out and act on the sight before it. Beca had to focus every fiber of her being to keep control over the situation and to avoid transforming. And all at once the blur focused in one the cause of the reaction. All Beca could focus on was the redheaded girl just a few paces ahead of them. Her hands began to both sweat and shake at the same time. The entirety of her body wanted to lurch towards the redhead. To Claim Her.

Beca had been taught what this was, only she was entirely unprepared for it at the same time. All wolves had a mate. A mate whom they were destined to be with for the rest of their lives. A soulmate. It was someone whom they were destined to bond with. She could feel the warmth from her shoulder spreading through her body. From what she was taught, an Alpha had even more intense feelings involved in finding their mate than a beta did. Mostly because an Alpha's mate was someone who would help lead their pack. It was someone who would give the Alpha a chance to be vulnerable. Beca hating being vulnerable. This moment was something most wolves spent every day wishing for, just as Stacie had. But Beca wasn't excited, even if her entire being told her to be. Because the redhead standing not thirty paces away from her, her mate, was human.

It took everything in Beca's power to swallow the feelings boiling under her skin. It didn't help that the redhead had looked up from her flyers and took notice of her. The girl, her mate, was absolutely gorgeous. She had long red hair, that naturally curled around her shoulders. Her eyes were as blue as the cerulean sky on a mid summers day. Her lips were pink and pursed, shining in daylight. Her dress was blue and black stripes that showed off her curves in the best way. Beca felt how the girl was pulling her in.

Beca looked over at Stacie to see if she noticed the change in Beca's behavior, but Stacie wasn't even looking at her. Beca followed her best friend's gaze and realized that the brunette had her eyes on another sight. And that's when Beca felt it. Stacie's wolf was going just as crazy as Beca's and Stacie was staring at the blonde standing next to Beca's mate. In a way, Beca felt lucky for that. She was doing a terrible job at controlling her feelings and Stacie hadn't been dealing with her own mate, she would've honed into Beca immediately. Beca was thankful that for this because at least for just a while, it was her own decision to make. There wasn't pressure from her pack.

"She's...my mate." Stacie stumbled to speak and Beca could feel the way Stacie was pushing herself to stand still and waiting. By now Beca had gazed over the blonde and knew she too was human, "The blonde...She's my mate."

"Okay," Beca watched the way Stacie's eyes flickered from one color to the other in an attempt to keep control, "Take a deep breath. I need you to control yourself. We can't go over there if you can't."

Stacie took a long, deep breath and her eyes settled into their natural human color. She looked over at Beca and nodded at her. By now the redhead had looked over to them and waved them over, "Okay. I can do this." Beca looked at Stacie's hands. They were shaking. Beca wanted to say no. She wanted to say that she didn't want to meet the redhead. Not now. She wanted to say that Stacie wasn't ready, but how could she? Stacie had dying to meet her mate since they were young - ever since they had learned about mates. Beca had no right to deny the beta her happiness. Even if it meant meeting the redheaded beauty across the way.

"Okay," That was Beca's way of giving approval. They weren't as strict as other packs. Beca would never make them do anything because she wanted it. But at the same time, they respected her and wanted her to approval. They respected her as their Alpha and Beca couldn't be more grateful for their trust. Stacie and the others would never disobey their alpha.

One step at a time, the girls approached the booth that neither of them had really bothered to figure out what it was for. As they did the redhead smiled with a fully white smile that made Beca bit her lip. The blonde looked less enthused, but Beca tried to ignore it. If anything went the way Stacie wanted it to, Beca would be spending a lot of time with her in the coming days. The walk felt like forever and a day, but the two finally made it over to the booth.

"Hi! Any interest in auditioning for our a capella group?" The redhead handed them each a flyer and Beca looked it over. The cheer in the redhead's voice was almost overwhelming. Nothing about how happy she was made Beca believe they were mates. It just wasn't Beca's type.

"A capella. Oh right, this is a thing now." Beca tried to keep it casual - she didn't want to be rude, but she couldn't risk finding a reason to like this girl.

"Totes. We sing covers of songs but do it without any instruments. It all comes from our mouths!" She enthuses and Beca flinches from the excitement of it all.

"Sound's pretty cool," Stacie replied to the redhead, but she was staring at the blonde next to her.

"There are four groups on campus. The Bellas. That's us. The BU Harmonics, The High Notes, and The Troublemakers." The girl pointed them out along the way as Stacie and Beca watched.

"Cool, Maybe we'll stop by the auditions," Stacie replied, "I'm Stacie and this is Beca."

"So long as we aren't full, there's a lot of other applic-" The blond started to speak and the redhead elbowed her in the stomach.

"I'm Chloe and this is Aubrey," Chloe explained through her teeth as if she was reprimanding Aubrey. The whole situation made Beca laugh for the first time as she was thankful that someone was willing to put Aubrey in her place. Stacie as she showed enthusiasm for their club, "We would love to have you guys come to tryouts." Unintentionally, Beca clawed at the brand on her shoulder and the way the warmth had spread to a burn at how physically close she got to Chloe. "Hey, I have a tattoo too!" Chloe pointed out and Beca raised an eyebrow. Just as she realized that Chloe was referring to her brand, Stacie looked over. Stacie's eyes lit up as soon as she saw Beca's Brand and the way Beca was holding on to it. Stacie could see the pain of the burn and recognized it.

'Is Chloe your-' Stacie intruded into Beca's thoughts again, but Beca refused to recognize the question.

"Oh yeah?" Beca said in response to Chloe having a tattoo.

"Yeah, I sort of went through a punk phase," She laughed as she showed a small tattoo on her forearm that Beca vaguely recognizes as the lyrics of a wonder years song. It read "Don't let me cave in" Just beneath the crease of her elbow. Beca smiled at the small tattoo, "So are you interested?" Chloe asked, switching the conversation back to the Bellas.

"I don't know," Beca crinkled her nose, "Seems pretty lame."

That kind of response seemed to set Aubrey off immediately, "Aca-scuse me? Synchronized lady dancing to a "Mariah Carey" chart-topper is not lame." The blonde was in Beca's face and the brunette had to suppress a growl at the assault.

"We sing all over the world and compete in national championships," Chloe added, but she was more cheerful than her vein friend.

"We played the Cobb Energy Performing Arts Center, you bitch!" Beca had to take a step back from Aubrey in an attempt to make peace. Stacie could see the way Beca was restraining herself.

'Thank you for not.' Stacie added in thought.

Beca took a deep breath and Chloe pulled her friend back, "What Aubrey means to say is that we're a close-knit, talented group of ladies whose dream is to return to the national finals at Lincoln Center this year. Help us turn our dreams into a reality?" Chloe pulled out a sign up sheet and showed it to Beca and Stacie.

Annoyed from the whole situation with Aubrey, Beca couldn't help herself but say, "Sorry, I'm not really a singer so... It was nice meeting you." Beca heard the commotion over the shoulder as she walked away. Stacie tried to fix the situation by apologizing and signing up for tryouts. She heard Stacie say goodbye and Beca could hear every footstep as Stacie caught up to her.

"Beca," Stacie wined as they walked away, "I'm sorry she snapped at you, I'm sure she didn't-"

Beca took a deep breath as she felt herself come back into control. She stopped mid step and turned back to her beta, "It's okay. I'm not mad. I'm sorry I said that. She's your mate."

There was a long pause then and Beca could hear it coming from a mile away, "Why didn't you tell me that Chloe's your mate?"

Beca shook her head, "I don't want to talk about it." Her voice was a warning to Stacie and Stacie knew better than to push the Alpha.

"Beca, don't do this." Stacie's voice was low to give the Alpha respect. It was a plea.

"I said I don't-" Beca started

"You don't want to talk about it. I know. But you can't shut people out forever Beca." Stacie was her best friend, but she couldn't help the anger she felt at a Beta defying her.

"Stacie, I don't think it's any of your-" Beca started again.

"No, Beca. It is my business. You can't possibly be so stubborn that you won't be with your soulmate." Stacie argued, "And your mother of all people will tell you that being with your Mate is apart of taking care of your pack. It's healthy to-"

Beca snapped as she folded into herself, crossing her arms and all, "She's human." She finally explained.

Stacie stopped and took a breath, realizing that Beca wasn't "You don't want to turn her." She stated it and Beca flinched, "Are you scared she won't want to? Beca, if she really is your mate."

"It's fate. Right. I get it. I'm just. I don't want her to feel obligated… can we just let this go? I don't want to talk about it." Beca turned to start walking.

"Beca, if she's you're mate she's going to want to and I know it's unheard of for an Alpha to be turned, but we're talking about the other leader of our pack. She's standing right there!" Stacie was trying not to raise her voice. Beca could see the flicker in her eyes.

Beca turned on her feet and began walking away, "I'm going for a run. Get the rest of the pack and take them back to the apartment. Don't do anything stupid." And before Stacie could yell after her, she ran out of the quad and towards the nearest forest.

'Promise me you'll at least get to know her.' Stacie intruded her thoughts just as Beca left campus.

'We'll talk about it later. Do not tell the other's about Chloe.'


	3. Chapter 3 - Complications

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When Beca hit the edge of the forest on two legs, she began to shift. The bones in her body broke all at the same time, but each just as painful as the last. They broke and reshaped themselves to create the form of her inner beast. Her eyes flashed between dark blue and bright red. The hair on her arms and legs grew into long white fur with dark brown tips on the ends. In all but a few seconds Beca hit the ground on all fours, running faster than any human could. Her senses heightened with animal instincts. She dashed through the forest and ran until her legs grew tired and she was no longer thinking about the redhead. It took miles before the warmth in her brand went away and she could focus on the world around her. It took time for her to regain her sense of total control.

She couldn't quite get her mind off what Stacie had said though. In a way, the Beta was right. It was unusual for an Alpha's mate to be born human, but Chloe would be an Alpha nonetheless. If Beca stopped fighting and gave in, _if she did claim Chloe, _Chloe would not only be an addition to the pack but another Alpha. She would be Beca's equal, her mate. But Beca wasn't sure if she could do that. Fate had a funny way of making things difficult and Beca didn't want to make Chloe turn because of some destiny bullshit. She didn't want to force Chloe into her life - into immortality. It had its perks and downsides. She wanted Chloe to know all of that before she made a choice. She wanted Chloe to have a choice, but Fate didn't give anyone much of a choice. If Beca had learned anything, Fate was inevitable. Which is what made the whole thing a million times worse. Besides that, she had other things to think about. She had to take care of her pack and finish getting their lives set up in Atlanta. She didn't have time for a relationship.

Beca didn't stop running until sunset when she decided that it was about time she headed back to the apartment. The pack would have questions and she still had to deal with Stacie's mate, whom Beca had a feeling she would have a hard time getting along with. But nevertheless, she was Stacie's mate. That meant that eventually, Aubrey would be apart of her pack and they had to deal with that. She had to explain to Stacie what her ground rules were, how they would have to have a talk with the whole pack before Stacie told Aubrey the truth and the risks of doing so. And the more she thought about Stacie's mate, the more she thought about what her own ground rules had to be with Chloe.

Beca wouldn't be able to avoid Chloe. Chloe's scent was all over Aubrey and vise versa. They were close friends. If Stacie were to date Aubrey, Chloe would be an add on to the situation. Which meant ground rules. She would try to avoid getting to know Chloe if she could. The more she knew, the easier it might be to fall for Chloe… if they really were mates. She would also avoid getting physically close to Chloe at all costs. She had a hard time learning to control herself around the girl already and she couldn't risk doing something stupid. Those were the ground rules.

On her way back to the apartment, Beca walked through campus. The second she stepped on campus ground, she felt the warmth on her shoulder come back to life. She rolled her eyes at it and continued her walk. In an attempt to avoid the inevitability of going home, Beca took a pit stop at one of the dorm showers to rinse off the run. She walked to one of the showers and turned it on. Without even realizing it, she began to hum 'Titanium' by David Guetta. The hum turned into singing and the singing only got louder with each verse. The shower rinsed through her hair as she sang, "Bulletproof, nothing to lose, fire away, fire away…" A burning rose through her shoulder, but before she could recognize it as something different from the hot water, the shower curtain shot to the side and Beca jolted near a foot in the air.

"You can sing!" Before her in absolutely no clothes, was Chloe. Her hair was stuck up in a bun and her hands were on her hips. Beca's face flushed red in embarrassment from how loud she screamed, "How high does your belt go?"

"My what?" Beca stuttered, her eyes still unavoidably looking over the ginger while trying to hide herself.

"The tone of your voice was beautiful. You have to try out for the Bellas." Chloe smiled with all of her teeth and Beca had no idea how one person could hold so much confidence while nude. This girl, no matter how absolutely gorgeous she was, could _not _be her mate.

Beca looked up at the ceiling in an attempt to give Chloe privacy. She just met this girl and they were crossing so many boundaries. She had just set up ground rules that she herself was breaking. Her body felt like she was on fire, "I can't concentrate on anything until you cover your junk."

"Just consider it, one time we-" Chloe started again and Beca could feel another long winded story coming on.

"Seriously, I'm _nude_." Beca tried to explain, her attempts falling to a meek plea for Chloe to leave before Beca did something she would regret.

"You were singing Titanium right?" Chloe was persistent, Beca had to give her that. Beca also had to give her the knowledge of music. Not many people Beca knew had a range of the Wonder Years to David Guetta.

"You know David Guetta?" Beca asked, losing herself in how badly she wanted to get to know Chloe. She was losing control with every second that the conversation continued and she could feel her. Her wolf was desperate.

"What, have I been living under a rock?" Chloe giggled and Beca could've sworn that kind of laugh was contagious. Did she really like someone being so absolutely opposite of her? Then Chloe winked and bit her lip, "That song's my jam...my lady jam." She was playing coy and Beca wondered whether Chloe was trying to flirt.

"That's...nice." Beca wasn't giving up on her plan just yet. She would not let herself go down this road.

"Yeah, it is. That song builds. Sing it for me?" The sudden flip of innocence in Chloe's voice was an absolute whiplash to Beca. Who was this girl, really?

"Ew! Dude, no! Get the hell out of here!" Beca's breath was staggering now.

"Not for that reason! Look, I'm not leaving here until you sing so…" Chloe leaned on the tiled wall, a smirk on her face.

"This is ridiculous," Beca argued.

"Maybe, but I can stand here all day." Chloe bit her lip and her eyes covered Beca's body. Beca absolutely couldn't stand it. Her wolf was near the edge and even if anything ever happened with Chloe, this is not how she wanted it to go.

"I'm bulletproof, nothing to lose, fire away, fire away," Chloe chimed in to a harmony and Beca felt like she could hardly keep her breath going, "Ricochet, you take your aim Fire away, fire away, You shoot me down but I won't fall, I am titanium, You shoot me down but I won't fall, I am titanium." Beca couldn't deny it. It sounded absolutely beautiful. By the end, their eyes locked and Beca wondered if Chloe had felt something too. Seconds went by and neither girl made an attempt to break eye contact.

Finally, Chloe did and cleared her throat, "Yeah, I'm pretty confident about… all this." Chloe smirked again and Beca rolled her eyes.

When Beca's eyes met Chloe's again, her voice dropped into a more serious tone when she said, "You should be."

Beca wanted to say more. Her wolf was dying to. She wanted to ask Chloe out, to make another remark. To do anything that made it so she could see the redhead again. But she didn't. And just as Chloe was about to move, a boy came up behind them both, also nude. Suddenly Beca realized by the scent of him that they were together. That the boy was with Chloe and was near _with _Chloe before Beca entered the bathroom. Beca's inner wolf growled and Beca had to cough to cover it up. Her eyes flipped red and back to normal and her wolf howled inside. The burn intensified in her shoulder and all of her control was about to go out the window. "You have a lovely voice," The boy told her and Beca's nostrils flared.

"Thanks?" Beca replied, sarcasm brimming at the surface. The moment went on for longer than Beca could hold herself still, until finally Chloe and the boy walked away, leaving Beca to the rest of her shower. When the door closed behind them, Beca took a long, deep breath in. She was even impressed by her amount of control over the situation. Her wolf was jealous. Beyond Jealous. She wanted to destroy the boy and leave him dead in the forest. She wanted to rip his throat out. But she hadn't. She hadn't ruined anything in Chloe's life and she wanted it to stay like that. She had every intention of leaving Chloe's life as simple as it could be. Chloe deserved that. Beca could tell.

'_BECA! BECA! ALPHA!' _A piercing scream shot into Beca's mind just then and Beca covered her ears at the pain of it. It was Emily's voice, forcing itself in her mind from miles away, which Beca didn't even know they could do yet. It was fear-inducing. '_BECA HELP, PLEASE. HE'S GONNA DIE.' _Beca's eyes shot yellow immediately as she dressed and left the showers. She let her inner wolf guide her as she ran in the direction she could only guess was where Emily was. '_ALPHA PLEASE!' _Beca had never heard the young girl so scared in her life. Beca could feel it in her bones, her blood. As soon as she hit the forest floor she transformed and followed the scent. It was muddled and hard to identify, but it was Emily's, Beca was sure of it. It was just mixed with something else. _Someone else's._

Beca ran as fast as her paws could carry her and finally reached her destination. She tried to take in the information as fast she could process it. She turned back to human form. Emily was on the ground. Her face, shirt, and arms were covered in blood. Bright red blood. But it wasn't hers. Emily didn't have a scratch on her. Below her, a boy Beca had never seen before was bleed out. His curly brown hair was standing straight up and dripping. His shirt was a Houdini shirt and covered in his own blood. "Beca, Beca, Thank-" Emily's breath was ragged as her hazel eyes were pleading for Beca's help, "I met him at th-the school performances. He-he's my mate. Beca, he's gonna die."

Beca looked at her younger protege and her throat went dry. The boy was dying. Beca could see it and smell the amount of blood he had already lost. His skin was pale. There was no chance for him to live on his own, no matter how fast they got him to a hospital. She had one choice and one choice only, "Emily, look away." Emily gave her a skeptical look and Beca could feel the Beta's will and how bad she wanted to ignore the command, "Emily," Beca growled, "Look. Away." Emily did as she was told and turned away from the boy, but stayed by his side.

Beca approached him and knelt on the forest floor. She took a deep breath in, "Hold his hand." She told the Beta and Emily immediately obeyed. Beca swallowed and took his wrist in her hand. She bit down on his wrist, hard. She felt the moment that her canines broke through his skin and blood filled Beca's mouth. She could feel parts of her energy flow into his body and she could feel him coming back to life. He was breathing, again. She pulled her mouth away and she could feel the next part of the transformation. His bones broke all at once and the hair on his body grew into a thick black coat. His body turned into that of a wolfs. Beca watched the transformation with wide eyes and hoped to whatever Gods there were that it was enough. That he could live. For Emily's sake. Emily only turned back when she realized that the hand she had been holding was now a paw. "Come on," Beca ordered, "We need to get him back to the apartment. Discreetly."


	4. Chapter 4 - Damage Control

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Beca sat on the edge of the guest bedroom, a hand on the newest member of her pack and a hand gripping the sheets too tight for comfort. Through the connection, Beca could feel the vast majority of Benji's pain and pulled it to flow through her body instead. This was a technique her mother taught her. A way of easing the pain of her pack member and helping them heal. Benji would have a rough couple of days ahead of him even with the fast healing that came with being a wolf. And when he finally woke up, Beca could have a lot of explaining for him. His entire life was about to change forever. Her eyes flashed yellow as she took away his pain and she clenched them tight when she felt the brunt of it.

Emily told her the story in between periods of shock and confusion. They met a University performance after the Activities fair. Stacie had given her permission to go because the Barden Bellas were performing there and Emily wanted to see. After the performance, Benji had walked up to her and asked her out. Emily didn't want to cause an issue, so she asked for time to think about it. He offered to walk her back to the apartment and she opted to take the forest, telling him how beautiful it was in the fall. They were attacked by a black bear and Emily tried to escape the matter without transforming. He made an attempt to save her and stepped in front of her path. When he got hurt, Emily couldn't help herself any longer. She transformed and attacked the bear. The bear fled and that's not long before Beca found them. Emily couldn't guarantee that Benji hadn't seen her wolf form.

"Beca, that's enough." Stacie was standing in the door frame watching her, as she had been for the two hours since she started. Since he arrived, Beca hadn't left his side and she demanded that Emily stay with them. The closer a mate was, the quicker one healed. Even without the bond, Emily was better with him than he was without her. Besides, Emily wanted to be with him, even if Beca wouldn't allow her to take his pain away. Emily would never disobey her Alpha. Not only did she look up to Beca enough to follow Beca a year before she had to decide for herself, Beca had also just saved her mate. Emily had more respect for the Alpha than she ever had before. But Emily had a few injuries of her own and Beca couldn't risk her losing any more of her strength. They both needed the rest.

Beca let go of Benji's hand and winced as the pain finished its way through her body. She took a deep breath and her eyes turned back to the lake blue they had been before, "We need to talk." She said, weakly. She knew they could all hear the rasp in her voice. She cleared her throat to cover it up, but everyone knew it was there. It had taken a lot of her strength to help Benji heal, but it was worth it. He wouldn't die. That in and of itself was worth it.

"I'll say," Jesse smiled grimly, an attempt to lighten the tense mood of the pack. Beca's smile back to him was grateful for his attitude about the whole thing. In just a few hours, her pack had gone through a lot of changes that needed to be addressed. She was tired, but it had to happen.

"Let's go in the living room and sit down," Beca requested. She looked over at Emily, who lay still next to Benji. Emily stared up at her, glanced at Benji, then looked back at Beca and nodded.

The group moved to the living room and got comfortable in the plethora of couches they had. When Beca sat down, Stacie covered her in a blanket and sat down next to her, a reassuring hand on Beca's forearm. Beca wasn't much for physical touch, but in this case it was more than that. Stacie was willingly letting a bit of her energy flow into Beca's body. Beca wanted to tell her to stop, but she couldn't. She was weak and needed the boost. Beca thanked her silently as the rest of the pack filled in the room and sat down. She swallowed as she looked around them, "We'll need to have a game plan. Emily, you're going to stay with Benji as much as you can." Emily nodded, "You will not miss class to do so, but the presence of his mate will help him heal. We'll take shifts watching over him and when he does wake, we'll explain. I don't want to tell him about you being mates, yet." Beca looked Emily in her eyes and Emily looked down at the floor, "This adjustment is going to be a huge adjustment for him already and we'll have to train him. Until he gets the brand, I don't think he'll be able to tell that something is going on. That being said, I don't want any of you to treat him any less. He's a part of this pack now and that means he's family. You will all treat him the same. And we'll introduce him to everything, slowly. It's trauma and he needs time to heal." The group nodded as she spoke. It was logical and Beca wasn't about to make more of a mess with this than it already was, "We also have to talk about ground rules… with mates that is." This time she made sure took look at Stacie.

"Like?" Stacie asked - her voice curious and more understanding than Beca expected her to be.

"We all know mates make it hard to stay in control. That means you need to be more aware of everything around them. If you feel like you're losing control, we need to work on it. I need you guys to talk to me about it. And… in the long run, finding a mate means expanding our pack. If they're human and you want to tell them the truth, we'll have to make arrangments to do that and we have to be aware of what kind of risk that poses for the pack. And I want to give the pack a chance to meet them before we bring them in. That makes sense, right?" Beca was trying to make the conversation less demanding and more conversational. She knew they understood the rules, but she had to make sure she was enforcing them in the right way. The group nodded in agreement, "I want this to be exciting, we just also have to be careful."

Stacie watched her intently and then added, "Honesty is the best policy." Beca and Stacie's eyes locked before she continued, "I met my mate today." She was trying ot make Beca feel bad about not wanting to tell the pack. Beca knew it was a ploy.

"Really?" Emily tried to sound excited but Beca could see the way she kept looking back at the guest bedroom.

"Yeah," Stacie smirked, "Her name is Aubrey. She's human. She's serious and could use some loosening up," Stacie laughed and Beca couldn't help but think that Stacie hadn't blushed that hard in a while. It was nice to see her so happy. Stacie looked back at her and Beca looked down at the floor, '_Not telling them is going to affect the pack. You know it.' _Stacie added to her thoughts.

"I heard that." Beca looked up at Jesse across the room, "Not telling us what?" Beca and Stacie exchanged looks, both shocked that Jesse could hear them. Telepathy usually was between two wolves. An Alpha could communicate in a kind of broadcast, but this was unusual. Jesse could hear a conversation between Beca and Stacie, which made Beca wonder how far her pack's bond went. In some sense, despite the situation, Beca was proud.

"What? What's going on?" Emily asked, her senses finally aware of the room in front of her, rather than the heartbeat of the boy in the other room.

Beca gave Stacie a death glare before curling her body into herself. She took a deep breath and closed her eyes. She couldn't lie to her pack, "I met my mate today, too," she mumbled.

"What? Really? Another Alpha?" Jesse asked, his interests one hundred percent more intrigued.

Beca swallowed, "She's human. Her name is Chloe."

"Why weren't you going to tell us?" Emily asked, her eyes showing all of the hurt behind them.

_Because I don't want to take away her choices in life because I'm a wolf. Because I just dragged myself into recruiting a human without a choice to save his life. Because the boy in the next room might wake up and hate me forever, literally. Because she's fucking some asshole that I almost killed an hour ago. Because what if she wants a normal life? _Beca shrugged, "I'm just not ready to talk about it."

"Beca, you should get some rest. You took a lot from Benji." Stacie broke the conversation and a wave of relief past over Beca. Stacie was trying to protect her and the pack and Beca was grateful for that.

"Woah, woah. Can't we talk about it a little bit?" Jesse cut in, his eyebrows furrowed and arms crossed, "I mean, It's one thing for us, but Chloe would be another Alpha, wouldn't she?"

Beca bit her lip, her mind wandering back to her interaction with Chloe in the showers. Even now, her shoulder was warm from her mate being nearby. It was like she could feel Chloe's heartbeat from a mile away. It felt impossible to ignore and yet it felt like she had to, "Yes. If I told Chloe, if she turned, she would be an Alpha." Beca confirmed. This was the reason she didn't want to tell them. Now that they know, she has to have a conversation with them. A conversation that she didn't have any of the answers for.

"If you told her? What do you mean by if?" Emily's attention was solely on Beca now, her eyes staring Beca down.

Beca held onto her legs tight enough to leave marks on them, "I don't know what I want to do yet. I have to think about you all,"

"Beca, Chloe's your _soulmate," _Emily argued and Beca's head shot up to look at the young Beta. It was the first time Emily had said anything against Beca and Beca almost immediately growled at the response, "I'm sorry," Emily whispered, "but it's true."

Jesse chimed in at the second of space he had, "She's right. And if you're thinking about us, shouldn't you be thinking about telling her? She would be our Alpha too. You can't just keep-"

"Come get me if he wakes up." Beca was standing before anyone could protest.

"Beca!" Jesse stood up after her and Beca whipped around, her eyes burning red.

"Don't." When no one moved to argue, Beca adjourned to her room for some rest. As soon as she got into the dark room, she nearly collapsed onto her bed. Stacie was right. She had taken much more from Benji than she should've and she was hurting because of it. It was that exact reasons he didn't want Emily to try something like that. It was for emergencies. Which is exactly what her mother taught her. She laid down on her bed and pulled out her phone. She wanted to call her mom and ask for advice on Benji. She needed information and her mother was the only other person that she knew could help her work it out. But when she pulled out her phone, she already had a text from an unrecognized number.

**Anonymous: Hey there :)**

Beca furrowed her brow at the message.

**Beca: I'm sorry, who is this?**

**Anonymous: Your shower buddy ;)**

Beca bit her lip.

**Beca: How did you get my number?**

Beca's heart was pounding out of her chest. Not only did she have to put up a constant warmth on her shoulder and seeing the redhead on a regular basis, but the girl had her number too. Why couldn't anything she planned for work out?

**Chloe: Stacie left it on the signup sheet for auditions. **

Beca's stomach churned at the thought of Chloe looking for the signup sheets just for her phone number.

**Chloe: Speaking of, you're coming, right?**

**Beca: I don't know. Life just got a lot more complicated.**

It wasn't a lie and Beca wasn't sure what else to say. She was hoping a vague excuse would get her out of the matter. She wasn't sure she could deny her inner wolf if Chloe personally wanted her at there. She could try to avoid it all she wanted it but Chloe felt inevitable.

**Chloe: Do you want to talk about it? **

Beca froze. Who was she even kidding? Even if she did want to be with Chloe, which she wasn't sure if she did, Chloe was whoever the asshole was in the showers. She didn't want Beca.

**Chloe: I really hope you come, your voice is beautiful.**

Beca tried not to blush as she sunk beneath the covers. Despite nobody being around to see, Beca felt the need to hide her face. How could someone get her so nervous without even being in the room?

**Beca: You're just being nice.**

**Chloe: I am not!**

**Chloe: Your voice IS beautiful.**

**Chloe: And if you ever need someone to talk to, I'm here.**

_If only, _Beca thought. She swallowed and got out of her messages. She had no idea how she was going to avoid Chloe and if she even could at this point. Instead of overthinking it, she pulled up her mother's contact to give her a call.

"Beca? Is everything okay?" Beca didn't think she'd be so comforted by her mother's voice on the other end of the line.

"Yeah, mom, it's fine. Why does something always have to be wrong?" Beca mumbled back.

"My daughter doesn't call me to catch up. What happened?" Beca rolled her eyes at the jab, but her mother was right. She had a reason to call.

"I turned a boy." Beca sighed.

"Why? What happened?"

"He's Emily's mate. He wasn't going to make it. He was attacked by a black bear." Beca replied, "He's in a lot of pain."

"You followed your instincts," Anne replied, "I'm proud of you for that."

Beca tried to ignore the compliment, "I tried to take away the pain. Is there anything else I can do?"

"No Sweetie, you did everything right, you just have to wait it out," Anne explained. Her voice was comforting to Beca, "How are you feeling? That technique really takes it out of you, doesn't it?"

"Yeah. It does." Beca sighed, "I don't know how to tell him. And I don't know anything about him, mom. How am I supposed to-"

"Hey, hey," Anne cut her off, "You'll develop the same connection with him that you have with the rest of your pack. It just takes time. You can do this."

Beca sighed and curled up under the covers, feeling like the eventful day was at very least at its end, "Stacie found her mate."

"Wow, you guys are having a lot of fun down there. Do you like her?" Her mom chuckled over the phone, most definitely hearing the exhaust in Beca's tone.

"Does it matter?" Beca closed her eyes.

"That bad, huh?"

"No. Yes? I don't know. It's been a long day." Beca felt like she was finally crumbling under the pressure after standing up to it for hours. She had spent the entire day exerting herself. Staying away from Chloe, turning Benji, healing benji. It had been rough.

"Why don't you get some sleep sweetie. We'll talk in the morning." Beca said her goodbyes and hung up the phone. She let it fall into the bed as she began to drift off, a deep sleep headed her way. Almost.

"Beca?" A knock came to her door and Beca knew it by the sound of her voice. It was Stacie. And in the moment she was the last person Beca wanted to talk to. She'd done enough.

"Yeah." Her voice was dull and low. She was annoyed and Stacie could feel it through a inch thick door. But Beca was her Alpha. She would never deny Stacie's need to speak with her. It was a part of the job.

As soon as she opened the door, Stacie's mouth way open, "I'm so sorry, I didn't mean to…" Stacie stuttered.

"Didn't mean to do what? Give Chloe my phone number? Tell the others about her? Or let Emily leave the apartment when I explicitly told you not to?" Her voice didn't come off as harsh as the words were. It wasn't aggressive or mean. She wasn't growling. She was disappointed.

Stacie closed the door behind her and laid down across from Beca. Her eyes were a pool of apologies and her hands were practically shaking, "All of it." She whispered, "I can't believe I did all of that to you,"

Beca shook her head, her body still lulling her to sleep out of exhaustion, "Stace, I'm not mad. I don't want to keep secrets from the pack. They deserve to know the truth. I just. I need you to listen to me, okay? You're my best friend. I need you to trust me." She wasn't speaking as an Alpha. And she was hardly speaking as herself. She was opening up to Stacie in a way Stacie only saw a few times before, "Okay? Can you do that?"

"Of course." Stacie responded immediately and she watched over the young Alpha. Beca let herself give in to the long sleep she so desperately needed. Tomorrow was another day. And it would come very soon.


	5. Chapter 5 - Joining

Beca scratched at her wrists, clawing red marks into her pale skin. They were almost to the point of bleeding as she watched Stacie from the backstage area of Barden's auditorium. She was singing the end of Since You've Been Gone just like the other twenty applicants had before her. Beca had no idea there was a song she had to prepare, but truth be told she wasn't planning on coming. She was so dead set on staying home in fact that Stacie and Emily didn't know she was coming to auditions. They had left without her and she had only just arrived at the end of Stacie's audition, which went well if Beca's had anything to say about it. Beca just couldn't resist the pull Chloe had. Her mate asked her to be there and no amount of stubbornness could stop her wolf from being there. It just wasn't possible.

So there she was, towards the end of auditions, doing some weird movements with her hands and pacing. Tommy, the audition runner, clapped his hands as Stacie exited onto the other side of the stage, "Okay, that's everyone." Beca watched silently as he wiped the dust off his hands and the groups looked over their notes for the previous auditioners. Beca couldn't believe the amount of control she had to force on herself to stay still, to turn around, to attempt an escape.

"Wait! There's one more." Beca turned around at the voice piercing across the auditorium. At Chloe's voice. Beca turns and sees that Chloe is waving her out on stage in front of every Acapella group in Barden. She swallows the lump in her throat as she walks on.

"I didn't know we had to prepare a song," She explained, her eyes on Chloe's the entire time as she walked on stage.

"That's okay! Sing anything." Chloe's enthusiasm once again caught Beca off guard.

She walked slowly out to of the back and as she did she could see Jesse, Emily, and Stacie on the other side watching. For a second, the whole thing made her nervous. She should've been home with Benji, not at some stupid audition. She swallowed, though, and continued walking. She walked up to the edge of the stage and picked up a cup full of pens, "Can I-" Aubrey gave her a peculiar look, but a Chloe motioned her to continue. Awkwardly, she poured out all of the pens inside and took the cup. She then began the only song she could think to sing, "I got my ticket for the long way 'round, Two bottle 'a whiskey for the way, and I sure would like some sweet company. I'm leaving tomorrow, what do you say?" Beca and Chloe made eye contact when. Beca could afford not to look at the cup she was using for music. Chloe's smile was big and white, "When I'm gone, when gone, you're gonna miss me when I'm gone. You're gonna miss me by my hair, you're gonna miss me everywhere, oh you're gonna miss when I'm gone." The auditorium was struck silent as she went through the song, verse by verse until the end. After Which she only looked up to realize that Chloe was burning her eyes into her. Beca's brand was on fire once again at their closeness. Beca wondered if it would always be that way if she did let herself get close to Chloe.

"That was amazing." Emily told her after the four of them had left the auditorium together, "So much better than Since You've Been Gone." She gushed and Beca rolled her eyes.

"It was pretty kick-ass Beca," Jesse added. Beca watched as Stacie stayed behind them and met up with Aubrey and Chloe at the door. Beca wanted to tell her no and to come home, but that wasn't right. So she let Stacie mingle with Aubrey so they could get to know each other. After all, they were mates and Stacie deserved to be happy.

"Beca, Benji's awake," Emily said, freezing in mid-step and letting her Alpha run into her back.

Beca took a sharp breath in and exchanged a look with Jesse, "Alright then what're we waiting for?" And the three of them ran off campus.

As they did, Stacie caught them out of the corner of her eye, '_Everything okay?' _She asked Beca in thought.

'_Benji's awake. You don't have to come. Spend some time with Aubrey. Get to know her.' _Beca made eye contact as they ran out of sight and she could see how grateful Stacie was from a mile away.

'_I could say the same to you about a certain Redhead. Let me know if you need anything.'_

The next thing Beca knew she was standing on the outside of their guest bedroom. Her stomach was churning. It had been two days since they brought Benji into the pack and he was still recovering, even with fast healing. He hadn't been lucid since the attack and Beca was beginning to wonder if he ever would be. As soon as they came in, Beca advised her betas to stay outside until she gave the word. Once she got a verbal agreement from them, she walked in the room and shut the door behind her.

Benji was opening and closing his eyes, trying to reorient himself in the room. His skin was pale and his eyes had bruising underneath of them, despite all the time he had spent sleeping. His hair was standing straight up and Beca could hear the way he was trying to take deep breaths and couldn't. Above all though, he looked afraid. As if he himself had been to hell and now the only recollection he had left was the horror of it all. He was still recovering from the trauma and it was Beca's job to explain everything to him as best she could.

"Who are you?" Just speaking through Benji into a coughing fit, "Where am I?" He tried to sit up and Beca flinched at his pain. She could see it across his face, feel it in her bones. He was going to be apart of her pack and turning him just sped the process along.

Beca took the chair from the corner of the room, turned it around and straddled it. Now she was a few feet from Benji, about to have her first ever conversation with him, about what happened to him, "Hey kid, It's Benji, right?" She swallowed a lump in her throat. Benji only nodded, "We were pretty worried about you, Benji. My name is Beca."

Benji cleared his throat, "What's going on?"

Beca could only scrunch her nose and eyes, "Do you remember what happened to you?"

Benji shook his head, his eyes were wide like a deer in headlights. Despite the pain present on his face, he sat up and leaned his back on the headboard, "I was at the activities fair at Barden, I went to the show, I, I, I-" Beca could see him losing the thought process, "I asked a girl out." He furrowed his brow.

"That's good. I'm glad you remember some of it. It's a good start." Beca tried to explain, "Benji, the girl you asked on a date, her name is Emily. She asked if you wanted to go on a walk with her. You did and you were attacked by a black bear."

Benji looked under the blankets at the bandages they had covered him in, "Is she okay? Emily?"

Beca smiled. If the boy was anything like that on an everyday basis, Beca could trust him with Emily, "She's alright. Scratches and bruises really." Beca shifted in the sheet and leaned on her hands, "She saved you, actually." Beca cleared her throat, "And we brought you here."

"I'm sorry, where is here, exactly?" Benji was at least attempting to wrap his mind around things.

Beca smiled and let out a small laugh, "Uh, this is our apartment. We kind of had to bring you here."

"This is really nice and all, but you could've taken me to a hospital-" Benji started and in Beca's mind all she could think was _Here we go…_

"I couldn't take you because we're all we're all wolves." The words came out of Beca's mouth in a rather disjointed way. Benji didn't respond immediately. His eyes were wide, but he looked confused. He furrowed his brow as if he hadn't heard her. Beca squeezed her eyes tight, ran a hand through her hair, and reopened them, "I'm sorry. I don't know how I thought this conversation would be easier." Beca stood up and shook her head, "It'll just be easier if I show you."

Beca closed her eyes and the metamorphosis began. Her eyes shifted first from the dark blue to strawberry red. The whites of her eyes filled with black. Her nails grew into long claws over the palms of her hands, which shifted to matted paws. As her bones broke into new positions, her skin tightened to fit her new form. Her ears grew into pointed tips as her fur grew into its more natural color. Brown grew out the tips and white filled into the roots. Her teeth sharpened and her canines turned into fangs that could rip out a throat with hardly any pressure.

The transformation happened in seconds and then Beca was a wolf, standing before the bed and right in front of Benji's eyes. Benji took a sharp breath in and Beca thought if he opened his eyes any wider, they'd pop out of his head. Unfortunately, in this state, she couldn't talk to Benji and he had no way of using telepathy. So Beca just sat down on her back legs and waited for him to come up with a response, "Y-you're a wolf." He said and Beca smirked, which in wolf form looked more like she was bearing her teeth. At the action, Benji tried to back further into the headboard. Beca bowed her head to him in an attempt to make peace. Staying low to the ground, she approached the nervous boy and put her snout on the edge of the bed.

At first, Benji stayed still in her presence and watched. With all the hesitation, Beca wondered whether she should've sent Emily in. Emily was the smallest wolf in their pack and the least aggressive. Beca couldn't help her size. She was an Alpha and therefore a bit menacing. She wasn't necessarily large, especially for an Alpha, but she was most obviously dangerous. Beca wondered if the presence of his mate would help calm him, but being as Emily was still a stranger to him, she wasn't sure.

Before she could think it through too much, she realized that Benji was reaching out and he put a hand on her snout. He put a hand through her fur and amazingly, he smiled, "Wow." It was breathless. The impossible was happening before his eyes and he was overbearingly in shock, "You're wolves." He confirmed it and Beca nodded, "Is Emily one too?" And Beca nodded again, "That's why she didn't get hurt. She saved me." Benji's eyebrows raised in realization, "How is this possible? Why are you telling me this?"

Recognizing that these were questions she couldn't answer that form, Beca walked over to a folded blanket at the bottom of the bed and threw it over herself. She used the moment to transform back and when she was done, she wrapped the blanket around herself. She looked to the floor beside her and noticed the way her clothes had ripped. If she kept transforming like this, she'd have to go shopping more often. That was a trip she hated. Maybe she could make Stacie and Emily go for her.

"The only way to save you was to," Beca bit her lip as she stood up, wrapped in the blanket, "bring you into the pack." She explained.

"Are you saying, I'm a wolf?" Benji asked and their eyes locked. Benji could see the way Beca's eyes were still reverting from red to blue. Beca nodded and Benji's entire appearance changed. Beca was surprised by it, but he was smiling, "Are you serious? I'm going to be able to do that? What else can you do? How do I do that? Does it hurt?"

A wave of relief washed over Beca at this point. Benji was happy about it. He was absolutely ecstatic, "We'll explain that all with time, I promise. Right now I need you to get better. Then I'll show you all of that." Benji only nodded, his smile unfaded, "But I do need to explain a few things. First, are you okay with staying here, at least for the time being? Is there anyone you need to call or talk to? Of course, it goes unsaid that you can't tell anybody about us."

"My parents dropped me off a few days ago. I might call them, but there's no one who would be worried." Benji confirmed, "I can stay and of course I won't tell anyone."

"Good and I don't want to overwhelm you, but a few more things. My name is Beca Mitchell and I am the leader of a pack, which we call the Alpha. Emily is a part of that pack as well as Jesse and Stacie, who you'll meet later. Together, we're a pack. We would like you to join our pack, but I don't want to force you into that. Either way, we are all here to teach you what all of this means even if you don't want to join us. We turned you and I feel responsible for helping you. Does that sound alright?"

Benji nodded, "This is all just...wow. I don't know what to say."

Beca smiled, "You don't have to. I'd actually like to let you get some rest. Besides that, Emily's waiting outside and I'm sure she'd like to talk to you. Jesse will probably want to meet you as well." With that, Beca took her leave and exited the room.

Outside, Emily and Jesse were sitting in the couch waiting. Emily stood up immediately to see her and Beca watched as Emily's eyes shifted from hazel to yellow. Beca could only expect as much. Beca had just come out of Emily's mate's room without any clothes on and a blanket covering her. It was instinctual for Emily to want to protect him. But at the same time, she wouldn't say anything to her Alpha. Beca only smiled. This was young love, whether Beca liked it or not, "It's okay Em. I was just showing him my wolf." She explained. Emily only nodded, a red blush spreading across her face, "You can go see him." She added.

The two betas leaped toward the door as Beca went to her room for a change of clothes. She closed the door behind her and took a deep breath. She thanked whatever Gods there were for having Benji so ecstatic about the change. After changing, she laid down on the bed and pulled out her phone. She had a text, from Chloe.

**Chloe: Thanks for coming to the auditions.**

Beca couldn't help but smile and bit her lip. She had made Chloe happy. It was a part of her training when she was young. Having a mate changed your instincts. Mates want to protect one another and make each other happy.

**Beca: Anything for you, Red.**

Everything felt like it was rushed. It was a true statement. The heat in her arm told her that if it came down to it, she would do anything she had to for Chloe. She hated every second of it, but every time she saw Chloe, the pull got stronger.

**Chloe: Is that my nickname now? Red? I like it ;)**

Beca didn't know her very well, but she could tell that Chloe was naturally enthusiastic and flirty. It was what made Beca apprehensive about them together. Beca wasn't flirty and it made Beca feel worse every time Chloe seemed like she was flirting. She had to remind herself that it wasn't real. That Chloe was probably dating that boy from the shower. Besides, what the hell was she thinking? When did she even start thinking about her and Chloe as _anything? _Beca heard Stacie walk in the front door and it broke herself out of the thoughts.

**Chloe: Has life gotten any less complicated?**

Beca stared at that text for a while. Did Chloe actually care? The girl was an enigma to Beca. How was she supposed to know? Beca always thought she had everything figured out and she often had to for the sake of her pack. But Chloe made her feel _different _in more ways than one.

**Beca: Somewhat. **

Beca hated herself. Every time this happened she had to push Chloe away. And then she had to remind herself why she was pushing Chloe away in the first place. She had to train Benji, watch over Stacie, watch over Emily, and everything else with her pack. She didn't have time for a relationship and she definitely didn't have time to introduce another Alpha. She had hardly settled with her pack as she did.

**Chloe: Good enough for our double date tomorrow night? ;)**


	6. Chapter 6 - Double Date

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Beca swallowed hard. She read and reread the words. _Double Date._ It could only mean one thing and Beca's eyes flashed red. "STACIE!" Beca screamed as she stormed out of her room and into the room adjacent to hers, "By everything I have in me you better give me a reason not to kill you. A double date? I told you no, _explicitly _and _repeatedly_." It came out more like a growl, low and threatening.

Stacie was standing in her room on her phone when Beca ran in the door. Her eyes immediately flash yellow and looked to the floor. It was a sign of respect, from the rise of her Alpha's voice, Stacie whimpered, "Beca,"

"Stacie," Beca's voice was rigid and angry. Beca could hardly calm her nerves, "I told you that I wanted to stay away from her. I told you _not _to push it. And what do you? You set up a double date."

Behind her, Beca could hear the commotion of the other two betas in her pack standing in the door frame. Stacie looked up at her, her eyes yellow and white. Beca couldn't help how angry she was. Stacie did exactly what she wasn't supposed to do, repeatedly. After a direct order from her _Alpha. _It was disrespectful and Stacie knew that. Stacie's eyes flashed in a deep breath and went back to their human color, "Aubrey only agreed to a date in the first place if I could help set up her best friend with the _cute _brunette I brought with me to the activities fair. Besides, _Alpha_ doesn't always mean _right_." It was a mumble but any of the wolves would've heard it from a mile away.

Beca furrowed her brow, but her red eyes weren't going anywhere, "What're you saying?"

"Despite your resistance, Chloe will be our Alpha, too." Jesse cut in and Beca whipped her head around to him. At the Alpha's stare, Jesse had to look away. Beca was trying to understand. Did her Beta's do this together?

"I just don't have time-" Beca started, but Emily cut her off.

"No, Beca. You can't lie to us, remember? We said no lying?" Emily was the most uncomfortable in the situation, still having all respect for Beca that she could bear, "You're pushing Chloe away. We all know it."

"You're avoiding her. You're scared to get close to anyone. We've all known it since we were little." Stacie elaborated and Beca was starting to feel ambushed. Stacie's voice fell to a whisper then, "It's okay to be scared, Beca."

There was a moment of silence before Jesse added, "We just can't let that affect the pack."

Beca was trying to process it. Her pack stood up against her. Willingly disobeyed her. But they were right. Beca had been avoiding Chloe in fear of getting close to someone, to sharing her burdens. She did have reservations about letting Chloe choose her fate. She also had reservations about pushing Chloe into something she didn't want. She was _scared _of all of it. She was _scared_ of being in a relationship. She was _scared_ of sharing the burden. There were too many what if's. What if Chloe and the pack didn't get along? What if Chloe didn't want to be a wolf? What if she didn't even like Chloe? What if Chloe didn't like her? What if _Fate_ was just _bullshit_? There were too many variables for Beca to figure out at the same time that she also had to deal with a new member to the pack and Stacie's mate. When Beca didn't have a response, Stacie stated her next sentence in a low voice, "We can't make you do anything. If you don't want to go, tell her you're sick. See if you can lie to your mate. But none of us our lying for you."

Stacie pushed Beca's shoulder as she left the room. The beta girls walked away and Beca made eye contact with Jesse, "You don't have to marry her tomorrow, Beca. Nobody said to go out and _claim her_. We just want you to get to know her. We want to get to know her," And he left.

That was the end of the conversation and it left the pack with a lot of unresolved tension. Beca didn't come out of her room for hours to think it through, but she didn't have much time to do that either. Before she knew it, Chloe, Aubrey and some boys from another acapella ground arrived at their apartment. It was apart of an Acapella Tradition apparently The three girl wolves were taken by the Bella's and Jesse was taken by the Treblemakers. The Treblemakers and Bella's separated to different buildings on campus. In which, the girls were forced to drink a juice that Beca wasn't too fond of. In fact, Beca wasn't too happy with the night at all, even if she was spending time with Chloe. She was upset. Upset with her pack for setting up the double date and upset with being blindfolded to go to an undisclosed location. Chloe swore the juice was actually juice and not the _blood of _former _Bellas. _Beca's nose told her Chloe was telling the truth. It Beca was being honest, she was just being overly apprehensive because the night had already been so terrible. Afterward, they went to the outdoor auditorium to meet with other Acapella groups and mingle. Drinks were supplied and because of the conversation earlier in the day, Beca's entire pack was drinking.

"I have a feeling we're going to be really fast friends." Beca's entire being felt like it was on fire when Chloe spoke. Their lips were hardly an inch away from one another. Beca could smell the sangria coming off Chloe's breath. Her hands were burning from Chloe's touch. Her brand was causing her physical pain. Everything in her being told her to just _give in. _To kiss the girl. _To claim her. _Beca had heard stories about this moment. About wolves who couldn't control themselves and mated early. Who caused scenes that had to be cleaned up to keep wolves a secret. Matings that caused the human so much trauma and anguish because it wasn't their decision. Matings that were ruined because a wolf couldn't control themselves. Standing so close to Chloe, Beca could understand why they did it. She could feel the pull. Her wolf telling her to stop thinking.

"Yeah, well, you saw me naked so..." Beca joked and winked. She was lucky that Chloe backed away to go get more alcohol. It gave her space to think and regain control over herself. And ultimately decide to leave the party early. She had a lot to decide and being around Chloe wasn't the place to decide anything.

She didn't go home. She went for a run. A run until her legs couldn't carry her through the forest anymore. A run that tired out her wolf, which took a lot more than she thought. Especially a wolf dying to mate. She ran and ran and ran until she was no longer thinking so much about anything. Until she was too tired to repeat the same argument over in her head. Until Emily found her drinking by a lake. Beca looked up at her, recognized her, but said nothing. In her head, the only thing she could think through was that Emily always had the prettiest coat. It was a light brown and it flowed in the wind. It was a stark difference from Stacie's dark brown fur and much more pure than Beca's muddled coat. It was still soft young fur, practically still growing.

_I didn't get a chance to thank you. _Emily intruded her thoughts, _For saving Benji. For bringing him in. _

_He's your mate, _Beca's reply was almost instinctual. That was all it was.

_But you were so sure about him. You turned him just like that _Emily drank from the river too. It was almost seven miles from Barden and the young wolf looked tired. She must've been tracking Beca since she left. Emily had the best nose of the pack.

_It was either that or let him die _Beca relented.

Emily nuzzled under Beca's snout _All I mean is that you followed your instincts. You trusted them. You did it without question, for me. _Emily walked beneath Beca and turned around, _You'll do anything to make us happy and protect us. Why don't you do something for yourself? _Beca didn't respond. She didn't know what to say, _You're selfless, Beca. That's why I wanted to be in your pack. You're an amazing leader. _Emily took a step back and looked back toward their home, _I'm sorry. I just didn't like how we left everything. I just wanted you to know. _Emily left right after, leaving Beca alone with her thoughts all over again.

Beca didn't come home at all that night or the next morning. The pack tried not to worry about her considering Emily had seen her the night before. Of course, it didn't help that Beca was gone for most of that day as well. The pack could still catch her scent, but she wasn't at the apartment and they didn't see her in their classes at Barden either. Jesse was about to send out a search party, but Stacie advised him not to. She told him that Beca would come back on her own time. They all knew the reason Beca wasn't home and it had nothing to do with her being in danger. Stacie decided that if Beca wasn't back by the time Stacie got home from what should've been their double date, then she would call Beca's mom. Which was not a conversation she wanted to have and she knew it would piss Beca off even more. But Anne was the only one Stacie knew would be able to talk Beca down. To get her to go back to her pack. Hell, if Anne knew Beca found her mate than Stacie wouldn't have had to do anything. They probably would've already been at very least dating.

Stacie was getting antsy when she rounded the corner of the Botanic Garden she had agreed to me Chloe and Aubrey at. She could smell the Alpha in the city, but Beca had always been good at covering her tracks if she really wanted to be lost. Stacie couldn't track her in human form the same way she could as a wolf. That is, unless she wanted to put her nose to the ground. Chloe and Aubrey were standing in front of the ticket center at sunset, right on time. Stacie scratched at her arms and shook her head. With one last deep breath, she approached the ladies.

"Wow, you girls look amazing." Stacie made her presence known to the two best friends, who looked over to her. Aubrey was drop-dead gorgeous to Stacie. She was dressed in dress pants, white shirt, and a blue blazer. The dress shirt had a diving neckline and she had curled her hair was at the ends. She was wearing a bright red lipstick that struck Stacie to the bone. Her eyes were piercing and she was wearing a vanilla perfume. Stacie bit her lip to keep from licking them. The brand scorched into Stacie's forearm was on fire.

Chloe was looking equally exquisite, though Stacie wasn't exactly looking. If she had, Beca would've had her head for it. But Chloe was noticeably beautiful. She was wearing a strapless black dress that didn't even reach her knees. It fit her curves in all the right places. It was simple but breathtaking. It was silk and if Stacie had to guess, a cold choice for a fall evening. Her hair was down and straightened for the evening. She was also wearing a black eyeliner that made her cerulean eyes pop - if it was even possible for them to stand out even more than they did on a daily basis. Approaching them, Stacie felt good about her outfit as a whole. A white button-down with black polka-dots and long, flowy dress pants. She tied her hair up into a tight bun, which emphasized the collar of her button-down. The long pants also emphasized the black high heels.

"Hey, there you are." Aubrey smiled with all of her teeth and Stacie couldn't help but notice how beautiful it was.

"Here I am," Stacie stopped next to them.

"Is Beca with you?" Aubrey asked, her eyes looking beyond Stacie and retracing Stacie's steps.

"Beca is…" Stacie started and she could see the way Chloe's eyes were drifting toward the ground.

"Hey, sorry I'm late. I got a bit lost." There Beca was, running up from behind the girls from the other corner. And she looked damn good too. A black shirt under a black blazer that fit around her in the perfect ways. She had long black tights on that went all the way down her to black heels. Her hair had been crisped into waves. She had a a full smokey eye look to her makeup. Stacie was positive the Alpha had to of stopped home, but Stacie couldn't make out when she would've had the time without the pack realizing it, "You look breathtaking Chlo," Beca took Chloe's forearms in each hand to get a good look at the redhead and a blush covered Chloe's face.

"You look beautiful yourself," Chloe's voice was soft and still recovering from Beca's compliment, "Shall we?"

"We shall," Beca smirked and put a hand out for Chloe to walk in front of her.

_Beca, I'm so glad you came _Stacie tried to get a word in thought, hoping Beca would have something to say about her whereabouts overnight. Unfortunately, her attempts at conversation were met with radio silence. Beca didn't acknowledge Stacie in the slightest. Beca made quick work of getting the tickets, paying in full for the four of them. Before Stacie could make another attempt at contact, Aubrey pulled on Stacie's arm and link them together.

"I know this is a double date and all, but why don't we split up to cover more ground? We can take pictures and meet up for dinner after?" Stacie knew what Beca was getting at. She wanted to split up from Stacie in particular and Stacie was already tired of the tension. Still, Beca came. That was a start. So Stacie agreed and they split up down two different rows of flowers to explore.

Beca thanked whatever Gods there were when Stacie went the opposite direction than her and Chloe. No matter how she felt about the situation, this wasn't the time to talk about it. If they wanted her to get to know Chloe, then she was going to get to know her on her own terms. That meant being alone with Chloe to make up her own mind about who the redhead was. She didn't want to put a lot of pressure on it. This was their first date. That meant simplicity and that's all she wanted. At first, there was a bit of silence, neither girl knowing what to say.

"So, is your tattoo like a best friends thing?" Chloe asked, her eyes wondering over the lily pad garden.

Beca furrowed her brow, then realized that Chloe was referring to the brand. It only made sense. Chloe had seen it when they first met and now she had seen Stacie's identical one to match. Beca laughed subtly. The girl might have been cheerful, but she was observant. Which in the long shot could be dangerous if Beca wasn't ready to tell Chloe everything. Beca pulled down her blazer to show the brand again, while also enjoying the air against it. It was burning and the autumn air was nice, "This? Yeah. It's something like that. My roommates and I, we all moved from Maine to come to Barden. It was something like our pact to do everything together."

Chloe looked it over again and smiled, "That's really sweet. Maine must be beautiful. I've always wanted to go," Beca couldn't help but think about how much she wanted to make Chloe smile over and over for the rest of her life. They may be opposites, but the pull was weighing on Beca.

"Well, what about you? You're a Wonder Years fan, right? Don't let me cave in?" Beca pointed to the words edged into Chloe's forearm and the redhead looked down at it, than back up at Beca.

Chloe's eyes were wide, "You know The Wonder Years?"

"What? Have I been living under a rock?" Both girls laughed at the coined phrase Beca was repeating from their meet up in the shower, "Of course I know The Wonder Years. When you mix, you have to have a variety of music. I don't want to get stuck playing all pop like those douche bags in L.A."

"Mix? Like music? You want to be a DJ then?" Beca was impressed about how much Chloe wanted to know.

"Uh, yeah. Something like that. I'm a Music Business Major." Beca cleared her throat and scratched her head. Why was she so nervous?

"Wow, I'd love to hear some. Maybe you could help out with the Bellas Playlist." Chloe squinted when they came out from an awning and moved onto an array of colorful flowers on the other side.

"Yeah, maybe." Beca swallowed as silence started to fill in, "Uh, what about you? What's your major?"

"Pre-med," Chloe glimpsed at the ground and then back over at Beca, "My mother's a doctor. I guess it runs in the family."

"I'm surprised you're not into music. I guess I just assumed, with the Bellas and all." Beca tilted her head and Chloe chuckled at the note.

"I love music, don't get me wrong. But I want to help people and I think the best place to do that is the medical field. Music is just a hobby that I love." Hearing Chloe talk about her passions was something that Beca found more endearing than any conversation in her life. She'd never wanted to talk so much.

"And your parents? Do they live in Atlanta?" Beca tried not to fidget, but warmth was starting to fill her stomach and the butterflies weren't going away no matter how comfortable she was getting.

"No, Colorado." Chloe laughed and Beca's jaw dropped at the beauty of the sound.

"Colorado. Now that must be beautiful this time of year." Beca smirked and Chloe laughed again, but just as quickly as the conversation seemed to go, silence filled in just as fast. And they were walking through the rose garden as the sun was setting. The sight couldn't have been more gorgeous if Beca had made a film set to match it, "Can I ask you something?" Beca added and Chloe nodded for her to continue, "Why did you want to come out with me? And, I don't mean it in a bad way. I just… I thought you were with that guy… from the shower?" Beca looked over at Chloe with eyes that were desperately trying to find the answer on her face. Her body was on fire thinking about Chloe with anyone but her. Her wolf was once again desperate with lust, looking to _claim _what _belonged _to her. Beca had to remind herself that no matter the animal instinct that Chloe was her own person, with her own thoughts. She was an equal to Beca and Beca would never treat her any different.

Chloe looked down, a blush coming up her neck and filling in her cheeks, "Can I be honest with you?" She smiled and Beca nodded for her to go on, "I, uh. I've never dated a girl before. But, when I saw you? I just didn't know what to do. You're gorgeous. I never thought I'd stand a chance with you." Beca's throat was dry at Chloe's words, "And that guy, just wanted, well, sex."

Pride and resentment both filled Beca's stomach all at the same time. She was both proud that Chloe felt so _different _about her than the boy and the shower, but she was resentful of towards the boy who saw Chloe as nothing more than sex. It aggravated her wolf enough for her to lose control and Beca had to look at away and readjust to stop the shift in her eyes. Beca would never treat Chloe less than what she deserved, "Wow," Beca said it breathlessly and it was enough to stop in her tracks. Chloe stopped a few feet in front of her, "I- I'm sorry I don't know what to say." Beca bit her lip, just now getting a whiff of Chloe's perfume. A mix of buttercream and salted caramel, "I've never been good at this sort of thing."

Chloe took a step in Beca's direction and Beca's lungs might as well have collapsed. Chloe's eyes were shining in the sunset and blue as the morning sky. A new kind of silence filled in between them as Chloe took a step that Beca didn't think was possible, "You don't have to be," Chloe whispered. Beca couldn't control herself anymore. The wolf inside her was pulling at her, _Chloe _was pulling her in. Her entire body was on fire. The brand burned like it was in the third degree. Chloe's lips were only inches away from hers and she could feel Chloe's breath against her own lips. Beca was shaking at the thought of moving at all. She had no control over what she would do and she never thought a _single date _would get this far. But she wanted it. More than anything in the world. Before Beca could think enough to make a decision, Chloe filled in the space.

Chloe kissed her.


	7. Chapter 7 - Wolf Politics

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_Wow, mark your territory much? _It was the first thing Stacie thought when the girls met back up at the entrance to the botanical garden. Beca rolled her eyes at the statement. Stacie was referring to their scents. In the time they had walked through the garden, Beca and Chloe held hands, _kissed, _and Beca had given Chloe her blazer when the temperature dropped after sunset. With all of the touch, Chloe must've smelled like Beca. Beca couldn't help but enjoy the thought, just a little. It wasn't like anyone else would recognize it, but it was something.

_I would say the same to you, but you smell more like Aubrey than she does of you. _Beca joked back. In all honesty, she wanted to be mad at Stacie still, but she didn't have the energy for it. She was happy and excited to be on a date with Chloe. She didn't have time to hold a grudge when her pack was only trying to do the best for her and the pack as a whole, _I gotta wonder who's actually marking their territory_ \- _you or her?_

Stacie blushes and laughed to herself as they moved on to dinner at a cute pizza place across the street, "So Stacie, Beca tells me you just started your first year of Pre-med at Barden?" Chloe asked when they settled into a booth.

Stacie and Beca exchanged a look and Stacie smiled, "Yes and I can't wait to get started."

"Well, let me know if you need help with anything. I took your classes last year so it's still fresh," Chloe smiled endearingly at Stacie and Stacie smirked.

"Thank you so much," Stacie said and looked to Beca, _She's sweet. _Stacie added to Beca and Beca alone. Chloe wrapped an arm around Beca's and linked them together, leaning her head on Beca's shoulder, _And touchy! I like her._

_You would, actually. _Beca replied.

"And you guys both came from Maine, huh?" Chloe asked, her smile soft and sweet and enough to kill Beca by just being there.

"Yeah. We all kind of grew up together, us and our roommates. Beca's mom practically raised me when my parents…" Stacie cleared her throat, took a deep breath, and Beca could feel Stacie's anguish of having to repeat the phrase so many time in her life.

"I'm so sorry," Aubrey linked their fingers together and Stacie silently thanked her for it, "How did they…"

"Car Accident." That was a lie. Her parents had actually passed in an attack from a neighboring pack. They had come in the night and ambushed Anne's pack and before they knew what was happening, they had lost two of their best wolves. Which was part of the reason Anne took it upon herself to raise Stacie like her own daughter. But that wasn't exactly a conversation to have on a first date and both girls knew it. Still, Aubrey snuggled into Stacie's arm as the pizza arrived.

"I'm so sorry," Aubrey snuggled in closer, "I've been talking about my dad this whole time and I didn't even ask…"

Beca eyed Stacie with compassion that Stacie tried not to look into, _Don't _Stacie thought _you know I hate sympathy eyes. _And Beca caught herself in the trance and broke it. The two had agreed on that when they were teenagers. Both had received the looks from Anna's entire pack for Stacie's parent's death and Beca's parent's divorce. They hated it and promised they wouldn't do it to each other.

"It's okay. I want you to talk about your family. I want to know about you," Stacie leaned her head into the crook of Aubrey's neck and Beca could see the way Aubrey's scent was calming to Stacie. They spent the rest of the night talking, all the same, and before Beca knew it, the night was at its end. Chloe and Aubrey walked Beca and Stacie back to their apartment, though didn't dare walk inside. Instead, the four of them stood, nervously and anxiously. They were saying goodbye to one another as if they wouldn't see each other the next day at practice with the Bellas. And just before they turned to go inside, Chloe kissed Beca and Stacie kissed Aubrey. It wasn't much of anything really, it was a quick peck. It was _goodbye for now. _

The two brunettes slipped inside and closed the door behind them. Beca could feel the warmth dissipating, but different anticipation was filling her. As Chloe was walking away with the warmth in her shoulder, She was waiting for Stacie to ask her the questions. The extensive interrogation about what happened with Chloe, where she was all day and night before, and plenty more. She could feel the tension of the pack in her gut, ready to boil to the surface. At the sound of the door closing, Emily and Jesse emerged from their rooms. "Beca, your back," Jesse stated the obvious and the room was still. Beca couldn't allow herself to look at her pack in the stillness of the night.

"I…" Beca squeezed her eyes tight in an attempt to think clearly. She hardly could. Hormones were racing through her body from the date with Chloe and it was clouding her judgment. This was yet another reason she had been so scared to go on a date with Chloe in the first place. There were countless variables possible with changing the pack dynamic so greatly. It was something she had to think about as Alpha, which was why it was so hard to say anything at all right now. Beca took a deep breath, "I'm sorry. I am… nervous to date Chloe. I know that if we are mates, that means she will be your Alpha too. And I don't want to keep her from you all…" Beca cleared her throat, "I just. I want to take it slow, okay?"

There was a bit of silence before Stacie walked in front of her, "I'm glad you came."

"Me too," Beca whispered.

"So long as you're not avoiding her, that's all we want," Emily added.

Jesse nodded and went back to his room. After that, they all adjourned to their rooms. Beca closed the door behind her and slid to the floor. Her entire body still felt the warmth resonating. Her wolf was dying inside. One of her only thoughts was to _claim her. _To bite her. To claim her as her own and make her part of the pack. Rightfully, in her human mind, she knew that wasn't right. That Chloe deserved a choice in the matter and Beca wanted to give Chloe that choice. She had to take it slow. Get to know Chloe. _Fall for her. _Besides that, Beca didn't know much about Chloe. If she had a real family, that would make everything more difficult. Her phone went off to interrupt her thoughts.

**Chloe: I had such a great time tonight, Cutie. **

Beca gulped. She needed to control herself. She needed to practice control if she was going to be around Chloe often.

**Beca: Me too, beautiful.**

Beca relented that the best thing to do was to go to sleep. That if she was sleeping, she wouldn't be thinking and she could give her mind a rest. The next morning would be new and she'd have a clean slate. She also decided that Benji would be well enough to train. It was something she had been a bit avoidant of. She wanted to give Emily a chance to get to know him, as well as give Benji time to make a decision about the pack. Of course, she couldn't see him going much of anywhere else, but she was not an Alpha of old traditions. They were not a pack that claimed their mate on sight or enforced perfect dynamics of dominance and submission between Alpha and Beta. She would not force anything on the new Beta, even if she had chosen to claim him. She would not make him join her pack. She would take things one step at a time.

So, she did exactly that. She had a good night sleep and awoke at six in the morning. She left a note on the door that told her pack to meet them for a run when they woke up. She went and got Benji and she took him for a long four-mile walk on foot. It was only when they were deep in the woods that she turned around. She had thought about what she wanted to say a lot, but it was still hard to say it, "So, have you had time to think about everything?" Beca sat cross-legged opposite to Benji. She was fiddling with a piece of grass. Truth be told, she was a little tired. It had been a long time since she had walked on her legs into the forest.

Benji looked at her with wide eyes, "I have," he nodded.

"Alright. Have you decided if you want to stay?" She asked. She kept her eyes toward the ground to avoid asserting any kind of dominance over his decision.

Benji nodded, "If you'll have me, I'd like to."

Beca swallowed, dryly. Then she started to explain all the more she had to. She went over becoming a wolf and what that meant. She went over the reason she changed him and how that asserted a claim in the wolf community when it came down to changing a human to a wolf. She explained that the claim would associate him with her as an Alpha, Beta relationship. That it meant she took responsibility for his actions in the community, whether he stayed or left. Then she began to explain the brand. She went all the way back to explain that the brand was a symbol of the Alpha family crest created by each Alpha for their pack. That because her parents came from two dominant Alpha family's she combined their crests when creating her own. She explained that the Alpha is branded with the symbol on their eighteenth birthday to represent going out on their own to gain their own pack. That every pack member she would claim would, therefore, receive the brand.

She went on from there to explain that the brand was more than symbolic. That it was a representation of the Alpha as well as a spiritual representation of a Wolf's right of passage. That once branded, a wolf would gain certain abilities. That those abilities included telepathic conversations with their pack and others, feeling the emotions and physical pain of pack members situationally, and bond with them in ways humans never could. She explained that bonding was essential to a pack and stressed how important it was for them to get along. She explained that these bonds also meant he would experience a different assortment of feeling he would have to learn how to control. She tried her hardest to stress the importance of each responsibility a wolf had to the pack.

Beca tried to be honest about every part of being in a pack and in _her _pack in particular. She tried to explain that an Alpha is more than just a leader of a group of wolves. That accepting her as his Alpha would mean following her in every way. She told him that wolves with the brand of an Alpha are expected to follow that Alpha's commands. She was gentle in saying that the brand signified that they were claimed by an Alpha and that they could be commanded to do the Alpha's bidding. In the old days, it meant that those Betas were the property of an Alpha and were _claimed. _In the old days, Alpha's _claimed _Beta's as property as well as a mate. Beca emphasized that she refused to take advantage of the ability to _command _her Betas. She told him that everything was his choice and in the long run, she did not force her Betas into anything. She was a freewill Alpha, who wanted her pack to be an equal one - it was that simple. He asked about how it worked if a Beta turned another and Beca rationalized that even if Emily had turned him herself, that his claim would be to Beca because Emily was Beca's Beta. Which is why Beca was so grateful that Emily called Beca and gave her the option of how to handle the situation. It saved Beca a surprise of having a link to a stranger she did not turn herself.

Beca went on to explain that having an Alpha wasn't just about being _claimed. _It was also about having someone to take care of him at a moments notice and be there for him in any second. It's about having a connection with someone who could help him heal and take away his pain. It's about having someone who's willing and wanting to take away some burdens that could cause him stress or hardship. Additionally, a pack was about having a second family who would be willing to do anything for him as well. A pack's connection, she told him, is a sacred and amazing bond that went beyond anything Benji would ever know in his life. That it was an important decision that's stressed to a wolf to think hard about before deciding on. She elaborated that that's why it was so meaningful for Emily to chose her as her Alpha a full year before she was expected to choose a pack at all. It meant more because Emily believed in Beca and trusted her more than anyone else in her life. Beca held herself to a high bar because of that. She couldn't afford to let anyone in her pack down.

_Claiming _very quickly landed on the topic of mates. Mates were harder to describe, but she did her best. She told him that, every wolf had a _mate _with whom they are destined to be with. That once a wolf came of age and chose a pack, they would also learn about feelings related to meeting their mate. That when a wolf met their mate, the brand would warm and burn around that person, within a certain distance. That with the closeness of a mate, their need to _claim_ one another would become nearly uncontrollable. She described it as _an elation that pulled the two together in hopes of never coming apart again. _That once they did claim each other, they would have different kinds of abilities separate from the pack. For instance, the closeness of a mate would speed up one's ability to heal and that ability would get stronger with a claim. It also meant that the mates would be able to hold a telepathic conversation between themselves and in privacy. As well as other things.

The young Alpha quickly circled the mate conversation back to the pack though. She clarified that even though a Beta would claim their mate, that claim would still be required to be upheld by the Alpha. She used Stacie as an example of saying that even if Stacie claimed Aubrey, Aubrey would still be Beca's Beta. Which is why it was so important for the Betas to keep Beca included in a conversation about mates, because if something happened, Beca would be responsible for whatever claim her Betas made. Having to explain the whole thing, Beca felt the weight of it all over again. Being an Alpha meant taking the responsibility wolves who trusted their lives to her. And as much as it was stressful, Beca couldn't help but feel intense respect and gratefulness to her Betas. It meant everything and more that her Betas were willing to be a part of her pack. Which was why she took her own mating so seriously. She wanted the best for herself and more importantly, her pack.

Between topics, Beca reminded Benji that her and her other pack members had grown up with all of these things their entire lives and that Benji was only experiencing his first few days. That the heightened senses were still new to him and that he would need time to adjust to everything before he could remember what she was explaining. Beca elaborated on the fact that her pack and she had been experiencing full transformations since they started puberty and have been changing ever since. She reminded him that it took them a long time to control many parts of their wolf before they started integrating that into a pack. She told him that he was basically diving in the deep end and that it was okay for him to take his time with it all. Beca said that at any time if Benji changed his mind about the brand or didn't feel comfortable with it, he didn't have to do it. It was a lot of information and she wanted to give him time to adjust to the new topics. She had hardly gotten into the politics of it all. She didn't want to get him too mixed up by involving the Elder Council and how things worked in the wolf world. There was an entire society filled with territory rules, alliance rules, and everything else she didn't want to get into before he was ready. She wanted to take it one day at a time.

Benji also asked what would happen if he decided not to be a part of their pack, which was an explanation in and of itself. Regardless of the brand, Benji would still be Beca's responsibility from afar if he got into any trouble in the wolf community. She would have to represent him and stand up for her choice to turn him in front of the elders, had the situation needed it. She reminded him that if he went off without learning much about her world, he would have a hard time staying out of trouble. She reminded him that there were rules and politics just like there are in the human world and that he could easily break them without knowing them, which is why she wanted to fill him in on everything she could. Otherwise, he would be free to live his life in a semi-normal fashion, just unbranded and therefore unclaimed. Which meant he would never know who his mate was for sure. She also added that there were wolves who chose to be lone wolves in the community. Some of which were in resistance to know who their mate was in the first place. Knowing this was Benji's choice to decide, Beca kept from telling him that Emily was his mate.

Finally, after all the explanations had been laid out for him, Beca stood up and stretched, "I want to help you through your first transformation."

Benji swallowed, "Here? Now?"

Beca nodded and a small smirk formed on her lips, "The first one is always the hardest."

Benji shook out his hands and nodded. He looked like he was trying to get read, but all at the same time way too nervous. Beca wanted to say that they could do it another time, but it had already been a week and his wounds were healed. He needed to start learning so he could get on his feet faster. She also knew that the sooner she got him moving, the better off they were if the situation came that they had to pick up and move. Beca needed the weakest member in her pack to be ready at a moments notice. They had a long way to go and this was only the beginning, "Okay. So what do I do?"


	8. Chapter 8 - Dinner with the Pack

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It had been two weeks since Beca had started training Benji. So far he was getting the hang of it. Beca herself had forgotten how hard the first few transformations were. She had forgotten how painful it was when her bones weren't used to breaking and reconfiguring to shape a wolf. She had also forgotten how sore she had been after turning back to human form. After the first three transformations, Benji lost consciousness from how much pain it caused his body. Every day after that, Beca took the time to give him healing sessions. She took as much of his pain she could handle away. After each session, Stacie had her rest and regain her strength. After the first week, Benji wanted to handle the pain on his own. Since he stopped passing out, Beca gave him the space to figure it out. Instead, she watched from afar.

In those two weeks, practice with the Barden Bellas started. Aubrey and Beca weren't exactly on the same page with the song selections, but otherwise, it was going well. Chloe took her side in the matter of song selections, while Stacie tried to stay out of the conversation as a whole. Beca knew that it bothered Stacie's wolf and she tried her best not to say anything. It was just odd. Aubrey wanted the Bellas to win, but she had a poor way of going about it. If Aubrey would just let Beca show her some songs, then Aubrey might come around. Chloe agreed with her but advised Beca to let Aubrey come around herself. Beca tried to take that to heart, knowing that Aubrey was Chloe's best friend and in the long run, it was better for the two to get along. Even if Aubrey had an authority complex.

After every practice, Beca and Chloe hung out and Beca was enjoying getting to know Chloe. Chloe came from a big family in Colorado. They lived in a small town near the mountains. She had three older brothers and one younger brother in a house probably too small for that big of a family. Her mother was a doctor, but her father was apart of a delivery company that often left him in between jobs. They made due the best they could. The story alone gave Beca's wolf a _need _to take care of Chloe, even if she didn't have to. Beca wanted to give Chloe everything she had. It helped that Beca had enough money to pay for anything Chloe could've ever wanted in her life. Not that Chloe could know that.

The more Beca knew about Chloe, the more she found that she liked. They were polar opposites in many ways, but those opposites Beca found were things that she lacked. Chloe was more emotional and warm. She was more communicative and understood that there were two sides to each story. She was intrusive, but she respected Beca's harder boundaries. She was sweet and kind and cared. So much so, that Beca could tell that she would care about the rest of her pack without question. In fact, there was no question at all that Chloe would make a good Alpha and every day Beca thought about it more.

She'd never really had a conversation like that. Benji was a start, but he was a stranger when she turned him. He was a risk, but not an emotional risk to Beca. The conversation she would inevitably have with Chloe had a lot more weight to it, as well as a few different steps. All Beca could think was, _Hey so I'm a wolf and this is my pack and you should come join._ As soon as she even mentioned the W word, Chloe would be running for the hills. She sounded like a crazy person. Who would believe her? She could transform, but she couldn't help but think that would also send Chloe for the hills. It was a terrible conversation that Beca didn't want to have. Yet with each passing day that she had to lie to Chloe about herself, she felt the _need _to have the conversation.

It didn't help that Stacie had been begging to have the conversation for a week now. She wanted to be upfront and honest with Aubrey as soon as possible. Beca was nervous about it. She didn't know which way would be better. If they kept from telling Chloe and Aubrey the truth, months of their relationship would be a lie. But if they told them immediately, it was very possible they wouldn't take it well. And even if they did, becoming a wolf was a huge step. A claim to a mate was practically a marriage symbol in the community. Would Chloe and Aubrey feel obligated to join? Would the question alone be too much pressure? Beca was trying to think it through before making any rash decisions. She wished she didn't have to think about so much only a few weeks into their relationship.

To get Stacie to stop asking, Beca agreed to have Aubrey and Chloe over for dinner with the entire pack. It was a slow start, but an important step for the entire pack. If Chloe and Aubrey would eventually join the pack, then the entire pack would have to get to know them first. So, Stacie invited the girls over for a Saturday dinner date to meet their roommates and Beca made sure everyone in the apartment cleared their schedules. That included Benji, whom they had to brief on what he could and couldn't say in the presence of humans.

Beca brushed off her blue jeans and readjusted her button up. It was simple but dressed up all at the same time. The button up was a short sleeve black piece made of loose, blouse-like material. She curled her hair into waves and took care of her makeup. It was nearing seven and she could smell the dinner Jesse had offered to cook. The aroma made Beca lick her lips. She couldn't remember whether or not she had eaten all day and she was starving. Beca was taking one last look in the mirror when she heard a knock at the door.

"I got it!" Beca heard Stacie yell from the room next door. Beca rolled her eyes, wondering if Stacie could look less excited to have them over to the apartment. Though, it hadn't help that Beca had pushed for Stacie to take their dates away from the apartment. In all honesty, the apartment was a safe space for her pack to freely be themselves She didn't want to change that by bringing humans in unannounced.

Beca turned the corner of her room and her jaw dropped. Across from her room, standing in the doorway of her apartment, was not a Aubrey or Chloe. It was instead Beca's mom, Anne, standing with her arms crossed and smirking. Their eyes met as soon as Beca walked out of the room. The food must've hidden her mother's scent and kept Beca unable to recognize her approaching the apartment, "Mom, what're you-" Beca started as her stomach churned.

"Beca Anna Mitchell, you've met your mate!" Beca's eyes grew wider than a deer before an attack. Her stomach started to do flips. Her entire pack was staring from all areas of the house. All eyes were on her and she felt like she couldn't breathe. How could her mom even tell she met her mate? Was it her scent? Her brand? What was it that Beca didn't know was a dead give away.

Beca cleared her throat, "Mom, you didn't tell me you were in the area."

"Can't a mother come to see her beautiful daughters without having to announce it?" Anne walked in the door and Stacie closed it behind her. Anne wrapped an arm around Stacie and hugged her tight, but Stacie was staring at Beca still. Beca could feel Stacie's emotions, radiating from her body. Her entire pack was alarmed by the intrusion. Stacie and Beca both knew that in just a few minutes, their mates would be arriving at the door and neither of them were ready to meet Anne.

Anne was a direct look alike Beca, except she was older and much taller. She had long brown hair and dark brown eyes. Unlike Beca though, she was loud and commanding. She was a true Alpha and there was no doubt about it. Anne kissed Stacie on the forehead and moved onto Beca, whom she went all in for a bear hug. Beca, reluctantly, rested her hands on her mother's waist, "Mom, what about the rest of your pack?" Beca had to clear her throat again to sound more casual about the whole thing.

"_They _actually bought me a plane ticket. I was just so worried about how you all would be making out. I just wanted to come to see you and see for myself. And good thing I did. I knew you weren't telling me the whole truth on the phone. Where is that little mate of yours? Don't try to change the subject on me. Is it you? Aren't you a cutie!" Anne quickly moved on to Benji who was sitting on the couch. She was in part kidding. She could smell Emily's scent all over Benji. They all could. Anne could probably tell that there wasn't anyone else new in the apartment. She was a powerful alpha and she was playing a game.

"That's Benji, mom," Beca stated and added in a thought conversation _He's Emily's mate, he just doesn't know that yet._

"Oh, right. Benji. You're the new member. Welcome to the family!" Benji stood and Anne hugged him as well.

"Uh, Thanks," Benji laughed awkwardly and sat back down next to Emily on the couch.

"Well, ladies," She walked back between Stacie and Beca and looked over them, "Where are your mates?"

Stacie and Beca looked at one another and Beca swallowed, "They don't know...yet." She stated, firmly.

"Know what?" Anne asked, her hands folded into themselves as she crossed her arms.

"Anything." Beca confirmed and shook her head, "Not about wolves, not about mates. They're human, that's all." Her heart was pounding out of her chest at the words. Her mother was understanding in many ways and she raised them to think for themselves, but there were a few things they disagreed on.

"Beca Anna Mitchell," Her mother looked directly at her, "Can I talk to you, in private?" Beca only nodded and sidestepped to direct her mother into her room. Anne swept passed her and into the master bedroom. Beca took one last look at her pack, whom all had eyes of apology for Beca's position. Beca took a deep breath in and followed her mother into the room, "Beca. I don't understand." Those were the first words out of her mouth, "When I taught you about being an Alpha, I thought I was clear on your position in your pack."

Beca scratched the back of her head and rubbed her eyes, "You were clear," Beca confirmed, knowing the next words out of her mother's mouth before she said it.

"Than I think it is clear that an Alpha's mating is one of the most important relationships in a pack. Your mate will be your equal - the other leader of your pack. They will help you lead your pack and help-"

"I know, Mom, I know." Beca rolled her eyes and leaned on her dresser as her mother paced back and forth in front of her bed.

Anne stopped pacing and looked her in the eyes, "How long have you known?"

Beca looked around the room to avoid her mother's eyes, "almost three weeks."

"A fortnight and a half." Anne confirmed the timeframe, "You need to tell her the truth."

"I want to give her time to get to know the pack before I throw all of that on her. Do you think it's easy just to say oh hey, we're supernatural beings and you're kind of my soulmate, so…" Beca's voice was crisp and commanding now. She had to stand up for herself if she was going to make her mother understand, "Not to mention that she's an Alpha so I have to tack on the added benefit of being the leader of a pack whom she's never met. That's a bit much, is it not?"

"She is your _soulmate, _Beca," Anne spoke and Beca flinched. The younger Alpha was beginning to hate those words, "She will lead your pack. The longer you wait, the longer you spend lying to her." Anne let the words sink in before adding, "Best tell her before you spend too long keeping it a secret. She'll have a lot of catching up to do to help you lead and the longer you keep it from her, the more behind she'll be."

Before the conversation could continue, Beca's brand burned and they both heard the door open. A cheerful greeting happened in the living room and Beca could hear that both Aubrey and Chloe had arrived, "That's them." Beca stated in a low growl, "Can you just… keep your mouth shut, just for tonight? I promise, she'll know sooner rather than later. But I'd like to give them a chance to meet us all before she has to think about everything else."

Anne looked at the door and bit her lip. She looked back at her daughter and her shoulders slouched, "Fine. For tonight. That's it. That's all I'm giving you." Anne walked out the door, signaling that the conversation was over. Beca took a breath and followed behind.

In the living room, everyone was still doing their greetings, "So, it's Emily, Jesse, Benji, and Stacie of course, right?" Chloe was pointing out the names as she was going about it. The pack was already semi-familiar to her. She knew Emily from the Bellas and Stacie of course. Jesse and Benji had both joined the Treble Makers so their faces were still recognizable to her. As she finished, they all nodded and congratulated her for getting through them all. Stacie and Aubrey had stepped into the kitchen to help Jesse get dinner onto plates. When Beca and Anne came out of Beca's room, Stacie gave her a nervous look to which Beca nodded that everything was alright.

"Becs!" Chloe approached her in a long red dress that set her ginger hair apart from it. Her eyes were ever shining and her make up was dazzled. She was absolutely gorgeous and holding a bouquet of flowers in her hands, "These are, for you," She extended her hand with the flowers and Beca smiled at the flowers. There was a variety and each of them smelled wonderful to Beca's heightened sense of smell. Chloe's eyes rose to Anne though before flipping back to Beca. Beca could see the curiosity growing in Chloe's eyes.

"That's so sweet of you," Beca smiled softly at Chloe and took the flowers from her hands, "Thank you, babe." Beca quickly cleared her throat though and turned to her mother, "I'm sorry, Chloe. This is my mom. Mom, this is Chloe. My girlfriend."

Chloe's eyebrows went higher than Beca had ever seen them before, "Oh my God, It's such a pleasure to meet you, Mrs. Mitchell, If I had known you were coming I would've gotten you flowers." Chloe smiled with all of her teeth as she extended a hand to Anne.

"Oh, sweetheart, you can call me Anne." Instead of shaking Chloe's hand, Anne took both of her hands and spun Chloe around in a dancing fashion, causing her short dress to fan out around her, "Look at you. You are absolutely stunning, my dear. How did my Beca come across such a beautiful girl."

_Might have been a bit of fate. _Jesse's thoughts were heard by every wolf except for Benji and most of them tried to avoid laughing. Beca gave him daggers when she made eye contact.

Chloe only smiled though, "Thank you so much, but you're too kind. Beca is the gorgeous one." Chloe's eyes landed on Beca and Beca couldn't help the blush that spread across her cheeks. Then again, it was hard to keep a blush away with the way her brand sent warmth through her body.

"Dinner!" Jesse called from the dining room and the party all came to the call.

As the rest of them continued into the dining room, Beca pulled Chloe back by the arm, "I'm sorry. She just showed up at my door. I would've warned you if I had time."

Chloe linked their fingers reassuringly, "Don't worry. I'm really good at meeting the parents." Chloe winked and giggled, but her giggle stopped and she looked up at Beca, "I uh,"

Beca's eyebrows furrowed at Chloe's sudden change of attitude. She was still learning about the redhead and didn't know what to make of the change of pace, "What is it Chlo?"

"I guess now is as good a time as any." Chloe swallowed, "I'm serious about us, Becs. I like you, a lot. I'm not seeing anyone else and I haven't since we started dating. I.." She took Beca's hands in her own, "I want you. I want us." Chloe started to ramble in nervousness, "I mean, that is… if you're not seeing anyone…"

Beca couldn't control her smile and she couldn't help the way the the heat of her brand burned through her entire body. Her eyes shifted to red and in the moment that she felt it, Beca pulled Chloe's hand and crashed their lips together. Chloe took the kiss willingly and placed her hands on Beca's hips. The sudden physical touch was enough for Beca to feel her wolf screaming, begging to _claim _Chloe as her own. Beca cleared her throat and pulled herself back into control to revert eyes back to their original dark blue. She looked Chloe in the eyes and smiled with all of her teeth.

She placed a hand against Chloe's cheek, "I," She joked, "I'm not seeing anyone else. If you didn't catch that by the…" Before Beca could finish the statement, Chloe pulled her back in and kissed her again, this time long and hard. And in the far back reaches of her mind, Beca knew that this meant something. That this meant that she couldn't spend a relationship lying to Chloe. That sooner, rather than later, she would have to tell Chloe. Not just because her mother would be breathing down her neck. Not just because it was the proper way to lead her pack. But because she wanted Chloe and Chloe wanted her. Which meant honesty. And that meant giving Chloe the right to decide everything for herself.


	9. Chapter 9 - Here We Go

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Dinner went better than Beca could've hoped for. Her mother, despite all of her reservation, kept from saying anything. Instead, the night went along as if they were a _normal_ group of friends and family. Anne got to know Chloe and Aubrey without _interrogating_ them about their lives. Chloe got to know the pack in a fun loving way and if anything in Beca's life made her believe in fate, it was this night. Chloe got along with her pack in a way that made Beca feel like she just _fit _in. The dinner party felt like family dinner and Beca was getting herself another cup of water when she realized just how _right_ it felt. Chloe and Aubrey added to the pack in ways Beca knew the pack needed. They enjoyed being with the pack and from eight miles away, Beca could see how in love Stacie was with the blonde beside her. Beca wondered if that's what Anne saw when she looked at Beca and realized Beca had met her mate - maybe it was love that Anne saw in Beca's eyes.

"Beca, we all know you don't take care of yourself," Jesse was making a joke halfway through dinner, which caused the entire room to erupt in both laughter and agreement, "You spend every day taking care of everyone else." It was a joke that was in part serious and Beca could hear the lecture from her mom coming at the end of the night. A lecture that went something along the lines of _if you don't take care of yourself you can't expect to have a healthy pack _and _Is that the reason you haven't told Chloe the truth? Beca we've talked about this before-_ Beca rolled her eyes and the group carried on with the joke.

Chloe's eyes landed on Beca as Beca returned to her seat next to the redhead, "Awe, Babe, We just know how sweet you are." Chloe curled an arm beneath Beca's shoulder and snuggled in, despite the arms of the chair keeping them apart. Beca's face flushed red and she swallowed.

Beca cleared her throat, "I am not." She mumbled, "Shut up, all of you."

The group burst into amusement again as Stacie added, "You can pretend all you want that you don't have a heart - but we see right through you Becs."

Beca rolled her eyes, "Can we move on?"

"Dessert! Yes, we can move on to dessert!"

The rest of the night went on the same. Joke after joke, laugh after laugh, there wasn't a dull moment in the bunch of them. Without being such, the assemble already seemed like they were a pack. Everyone helped clean up dinner, everyone helped pass out dessert. Someone did the dishes, another cleaned off the table. The apartment was filled with conversation that moved from one topic to another and gave the whole group a chance to bond. Chloe and Aubrey told stories about their time in the Bellas and some not so great times at the national competition the previous year. It made Beca understand why Aubrey had such a hold on the Bellas and why she wanted to desperately to stick to the setlist she had. The night also gave Beca a chance to get to know Aubrey and help smooth out the rocky relationship they started out with.

In the midst of the night, Chloe asked Beca for a tour of the place and Beca agreed. Beca showed her around the apartment and then into her room. Chloe questioned how they decided who got the master bedroom and Beca had to answer with only a shrug. There was so much she wanted to say and Beca could see the shift of lying starting. She didn't want to lie to Chloe and if she didn't want to, that meant that everyone was right. Chloe liked her room but called it rather bland. There were white walls, a few shelves, a bookcase, a dresser, a bed. The furniture was all white and if Beca was being honest, it was simple. To be fair, she had come from Maine and bought a fully furnished apartment. It's not like she had many possessions to fill the room with. She had a laptop for mixing and some equipment she bought when they arrived, but Chloe was right. It was bland. And Beca had to try her best not to think about how Chloe would brighten the room if she moved in.

That night, after Chloe and Aubrey left, Beca announced that if Benji was sure he wanted to join their pack, that she would give him her brand. Benji pretended to be calm in telling her he wanted to, but the pack could practically see him wagging his tail. After the night they had, Beca couldn't be surer that Benji was ready. He had control over his wolf enough for him to keep even his eyes from changing with his emotions. Already, Beca felt like he was a part of the family and she couldn't imagine not having him there. A lot was changing, but the young Alpha had confidence in her choices.

In the kitchen, Beca took the brand iron and prepared it by applying heat. Benji picked the back of his calf to place it. The entire pack and Anne waited in anticipation at near one in the morning. Beca reminded Benji of the rules of the pack and the fact that once he was branded, he would have the ability to know who his mate was. Beca also took care to remind Emily that he would have a hard time controlling himself once he knew. It was only once Benji and Emily recognized this and acknowledged the information, that Beca continued with the ceremony.

Jesse and Stacie held onto Benji's arms as he straddled a dining room table. Emily and Anne held his hands from across the table. Beca gave him a wet rag to bite down on, "Are you ready?" The Alpha asked. Benji only took the rag in his mouth and nodded to her. Beca went back to the heated brand and took the long pole out of the fire. She took a deep breath when she approached Benji. It had been a few months since she had applied a brand and she had to steady her hands before she did it. After approaching, she got confirmation from each of the surrounding wolves, then flipped the pole and pressed the brand firm and hard against the back of Benji's leg. Benji screamed at first, then settled into an uncomfortable groan that was muffled by the rag. It was moments before Beca could pull the iron away. Benji's seething lasted for what felt like eons while Beca cared for the wound for it to heal properly.

At Beca's command, the wolves released Benji from their grasp and allowed him to move. Beca watched his movements in an attempt to prevent possible scenarios. Every wolf in the room could feel the change in the atmosphere. The array of feelings that flooded through them from the new member was explosive. It was a shift in their entire pack and Beca could feel the emotions lock into place, "Benji? Are you alright?" Beca asked as Benji sat up and turned to her, "Benji?"

The first thing Beca noticed was the change in his eye color to the yellow of his wolf as he turned around. Beca touched his wrist and immediately, his feelings flowed into her body. Her eyes shot red and his thoughts began to flow through her body. _MINE, MINE, MINE. _Beca could tell immediately that he was referring to Emily. It was his wolf's urge to claim her. The brand was enforcing to him that Emily was his mate and with the flow of emotions and shift in the room, he was having a hard time handling it. "Benji. I need you to listen to me." Beca stated as she held a hand up to her pack to stand back away from him. Quickly, the pack surrounded Emily to keep her safe, "Benji, come back to me. Control it, okay?" Beca put a hand on each of his shoulders, "Come back to me buddy. Deep breaths." Once Beca made eye contact with him, Benji began to follow her commands. Beca watched as the yellow in his eyes faded back to their usual chocolate color. He let out a long breath once and closed his eyes when the yellow was entirely gone.

"I'm sorry, I don't know what came over me," He breathed out and his shoulders relaxed.

Beca only rubbed his shoulder, "It's okay. That's just a part of the process. You'll get used to it. It just takes time. You just have to control yourself."

Finally, the pack released Emily from their grip and she approached Benji. Benji looked over to her and swallowed hard. Beca took a few steps back but stayed close in case she was needed, "You...You're...my…" Benji couldn't keep his sentences straight.

"Can we talk, in private?" Emily was asking Benji, but she redirected her attention to get Beca's permission before taking him anywhere.

"Of course, we'll train more tomorrow." Beca looked down at the floor as she tried not to be too involved. As an Alpha, she had to be involved in their lives and cross a few lines, but she wanted to give them the chance to also have the privacy they deserved. Emily took Benji's hand and led him back to her room across the apartment, _Take it slow. _Beca couldn't help herself but remind Emily as they disappeared into her room.

Anne only stayed for the weekend before she headed back up to Maine to be with her pack. Beca was glad when she left, but Anne didn't leave without a word of advice to her young Alpha. She told Beca she'd be back in a month to meet her _daughter by wolf law, _meaning Chloe. Which meant that within a month, she expected that Beca not only tell Chloe the truth, but present Chloe with a mating mark. That was wolf law. Beca rolled her eyes and Anne left, but Beca knew that she shouldn't take her mother's words lightly. After all, Anne was the Alpha of a large pack recognized greatly in the community. She was right about the way a pack should be run. Anne knew better than most that a Mate was important to running a pack. Anne had a mate before Beca was born, whom she lost in battle. Anne and Beca's father had gotten together soon after, but even though Beca's father was an Alpha of his own pack, he did not fill the place of Anne's mate. It would forever be an empty space for Anne that Beca would try not to bring up. Anne would forever have the mating mark on her lower collar bone to represent the loss of her beloved. Beca didn't want to push that.

Wolf bites were very specific and important in the wolf community. A wolf bite represented a claim over someone or predation. A wolf's bite that drew blood was forever in any case. In Benji's case, he would forever have a bite mark on his wrist, specific to Beca's bite. That represented Beca's claim by turning him. A bite on the wrist would always represent a human turned wolf. A mating mark, on the other hand, was a personal mark that mates would present each other with. In wolf law, it was kind of like a wedding ring. It meant that they claimed one another. While Beca placed a claim on Benji on his wrist, Emily would be the only one to give him a mating mark, eventually. The mating mark came with its own set of abilities for the couple alone. Beca hoped that Benji and Emily take their time before they took that step. She wanted to give Benji a chance to get used to the brand before adding the mating mark. She was proud of them when they started going on dates instead. Beca might not have had the same luxury of taking her time, but she wanted her Betas to have the chance.

Beca spent an entire week training Benji and reorienting the pack. Adding a new member to the pack was a wave of different emotions for them to feel. It took time to adjust their connections and Beca had to give Benji time to catch up to the pack's overall abilities. Though, Benji was a quick learner. He was very quick to catching onto thought conversations. He was also getting faster in his wolf form. He could almost keep up with the pack at full pace. By the end of the week, Beca was comfortable with the decision she had made as well as the next decision she had to make.

"We're going to tell them." Beca told Stacie one day when she was laying on Stacie's bed while Stacie was doing her makeup.

Stacie whipped her head around to Beca, who hadn't stopped throwing a ball at Stacie's ceiling, "Really?"

Beca looked down at Stacie and sat up, leaving the ball to fall on the bed behind her, "Yes, really." Beca confirmed, "I just, don't know how. And I want to take it slow."

Stacie sat down next to Beca on the bed, giving the Alpha all of her attention, "Of course."

"I want to give you a chance to tell Aubrey. I just want to talk to her afterwards, to make sure she knows what she needs to." She gulped, "And I'll tell Chloe." She could practically hear her voice break, "Just let me know when."

The time between that conversation and the day Stacie set up went by before Beca could take a breather. Stacie set up a day that Beca agreed to. In the days leading up to it, Beca held a pack meeting where they all agreed to having Aubrey join the pack, if that was her decision. With unanimous agreement from her family, Stacie invited Aubrey over to the house on a day where the apartment was empty other than her, Aubrey, and Beca. She took Aubrey into her room to have the conversation and Beca stayed out in the living room to wait. Beca's hands were shaking as she could hear the muffled conversation on the other side of Stacie's door. The whole thing gave Beca anxiety.

"You have got to be kidding me!" Aubrey's scream was high enough to shatter the glass of the windows. Beca stood up and rubbed her ears to sooth them. Sometimes having enhanced hearing didn't do her any good.

Aubrey ripped open Stacie's door and stormed out, "Bree, wait!" Stacie yelled, but Aubrey wasn't listening. Her eyes were fixed on the door as she brushed passed Beca without saying a word to her. Beca looked back at Stacie, who had tears welling up in her eyes. Beca's heart broke at the look in Stacie's eyes and the redness covering them. Her heart sank at the way Stacie's hands were shaking and Beca could literally _feel _Stacie's heart _breaking. _

"Stay here." Beca didn't mean for it come out as a command, but it did. Beca jet down the hall to follow Aubrey down in the hallway of the apartment building, "Aubrey, wait." But Aubrey didn't budge. She ripped open the door to the stairwell and stormed down the concrete steps. Her heels smacked into each one with a loud smack, "Aubrey, stop!"

Aubrey turned around and for the first time Beca could see the tears in her eyes, "What? What could you possibly have to say, Beca? More nonsense?"

Beca swallowed, her eyes analyzing every inch of Aubrey's face. Her cheeks were flush and her chest was moving up and down fast. Her makeup was running down her face, "I know this all sounds crazy-"

"_Sounds_? _Sounds _crazy?" Aubrey's voice was piercing and her eyes were wide. Beca could see the way her tears made glistened off her face, "You're crazy, She's crazy. All of you!"

"Aubrey." Beca said, "Come back inside. Please, just let-"

"No." Aubrey turned back to her path and stepped a few feet forward.

"I will show you." Beca yelled and it echoed in the stairwell, "Give is five minutes. What will it make a difference? Five minutes and you can leave just the same if you don't change your mind. I just need five minutes." Aubrey looked back at Beca and Beca could see her hesitation, "Please, Aubrey. Don't walk away from this. Not now. You can't tell me deep down you don't want to believe her. Just come back."

A moment of silence filled the stairwell. Aubrey cleared her throat, "Five minutes." She confirmed.

Beca opened the stairwell door for the blonde and Aubrey walked back in. Beca trailed behind her and back into the apartment. Beca confirmed nobody was watching them before walking back into the apartment with Aubrey. Inside, Stacie was curled up on the couch with tears in her eyes. When Aubrey walked back in, Stacie's eyes lit up. Beca and Aubrey exchanged a look, "Stacie," Beca said her name and Stacie eyed her, "Can you show Aubrey what you were talking about?" She swallowed.

"You want me to…?" Stacie stood up and Beca nodded before she finished the sentence. Stacie looked at Aubrey and their eyes locked. Stacie swallowed and Beca stood at the front door of their apartment.

Aubrey watched with wide eyes as Stacie's transformation began. Even from a few feet away, the girls could hear Stacie's bones break and see the way they contorted into a new form. Stacie's eyes twisted into a bright yellow and her snout formed. Her clothes stripped off her body as it warped into her wolf form. The dark brown grew in and in a flash before Aubrey's eyes, Stacie was standing on all four paws. Aubrey's jaw dropped as she turned back to Beca.

"We're not crazy." Beca confirmed in a low voice. Stacie walked around the coffee table and slowly approached Aubrey. Aubrey backed up until she bumped into Beca. Aubrey turned to Beca and Beca put out a hand for Stacie, "It's okay, Aubrey. It's still Stacie." Stacie pressed her snout to Beca's palm and Beca ran a hand through Stacie's thick coat of fur, "Aubrey, we're wolves. This is real." Beca took a step around Aubrey and Aubrey put a hand out to Stacie. It was shaking as Stacie approached. Stacie did the same to Aubrey, putting her nose against Aubrey's hand and allowing Aubrey to adjust. After a nod from Beca, Aubrey ran a hand through Stacie's fur between her ears. Stacie licked Aubrey's hand as she did. "Stacie, why don't you go get dressed so you guys can talk."

Aubrey watched as Stacie walked back to her room on all four paws and closed the door with her tail. Once the door was shut, Aubrey looked at Beca, "I…"

"I know it sounds crazy. We weren't exactly expecting a perfect reaction." Beca explained.

Stacie soon entered again in a new outfit and walking on two legs, "Bree…" Aubrey stared at Stacie in almost complete disbelief, "Can we talk?" Aubrey only nodded and approached Stacie's doorway. Stacie let her inside and mouthed a quick _Thank you _before following the blonde inside.

_Here we go.._


	10. Chapter 10 - Telling you

**The moment you've all been waiting for? Let me know what you think! Please Review!**

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Stacie told Aubrey everything. It was a long discussion that Stacie had called Beca into halfway through. Simply, it was a lot to take in. In fact, it was a lot to take in the wolf pack thing alone, not even mentioning mates or pack mentality. Needless to say, Aubrey had a lot of questions about well… everything. The blonde was a thorough, controlling person. She needed to know all of the information to process it. The conversation had started with wolves in general - what being a wolf was like, whether they were immortal, and if they were born like that. Stacie answered the simple questions, as best she could. It was when they got into the harder conversation that Stacie asked Beca to come in her room and join them. As an Alpha, it was part of her job to help explain the matter and invite Aubrey to join the pack.

"So you're, like the- the leader?" It was Aubrey's first question when Beca walked into the room.

Beca eyed the couple as she walked into the room. They were sitting on the edge of Stacie's bed, across from each other, but both of them were staring at Beca. Stacie's eyes were still red, but the flush in her face had gone away. Beca sat down in the swivel chair by Stacie's desk, "Alpha…yes." Beca nodded to Aubrey as she sat down.

"Alpha…" Aubrey repeated the words like they were a whole new language and in a way, it was.

Beca looked at Stacie, "I don't know everything the two of you have already talked about…" She moved her eyes back to Aubrey.

"Just the basics," Aubrey joked, "Your wolves, your an Alpha and your roommates are…Betas? You were born this way and kind of immortal? Oh, and she asked me to…uh, join you. And be her… girlfriend… _mate_?" Aubrey cleared her throat, "I just… I think I need time to think about all of this."

Beca nodded and kind of laughed at the way Aubrey was processing, "Okay. That's a good start. I just have to make sure that you kind of… know everything before you make a decision. Is that alright?" Beca's words were coming out of her mouth in fragments and nervous ramblings. She wanted to do this right, for Stacie's sake.

"Okay...I'm sorry this is all just so insane to me." Aubrey crossed her legs and turned her full attention to Beca.

"It's okay, I know it's hard to grasp." Stacie put a hand on Aubrey's shoulder and Aubrey took a deep breath. So, Beca got into it. She went over everything she could think of to tell Aubrey and as she listened to herself saying it, she felt like she was running a class. She tried to explain everything she went over with Benji when he first joined the pack. She explained everything under the sun about their abilities, their lives, _mates. _She breezed over the feelings involved with mates and kind of left it to Stacie to provide the information about mating and how different it was from dating. She tried to be as understanding as she could and answered the questions as they came to Aubrey's mind. Aubrey stopped her a few times to ask questions that were more specific - like whether Stacie and Beca could talk to each other telepathically and if they had ever talked about Aubrey when they were right in front of her. Aubrey had a lot more questions by the time Beca got around to the pack rules and Alpha/Beta dynamic.

"So, an Alpha can… control Betas?" Aubrey nearly choked on the words and Beca could tell Aubrey was thinking more along the lines of her and Beca rather than the general. In Beca's mind, at very least Aubrey was thinking about it in reality rather than in theory. Beca swallowed hard and Stacie shot her a look, "Hey. No Telepathic talk." Aubrey added.

Beca steered back to Aubrey and thought a minute before saying, "Technically, yes. But I would never, Aubrey." She looked into Aubrey's eyes when she said it. Her voice dropped an entire octave, "I know we haven't and aren't always on the same page. If you would like to join us, I would never affect your freedom. This is a family and unless it was absolutely necessary to help you, I would never do that."

"Beca's the only Alpha I've ever met who puts her Beta's before herself, Bree." Stacie added, "She'd never in a million years do anything to hurt us."

Aubrey nodded and flinched at the word Beta. Beca could see that she was unconvinced and nervous about being called a _beta_, but she didn't know the blonde well enough to soothe her uneasiness. Instead, she let it settle and gave Aubrey the chance to digest. There would be more to talk about if Aubrey decided that was something she wanted. To allow her the chance to think, Stacie and Beca let her leave, after of course promising that she would keep everything she learned a secret from everyone… _including Chloe. _Which only reminded Beca that now that Aubrey had the options open to her, it was time for her to tell Chloe everything.

**Beca: Hey, can we meet up later this week? **

And just like that, a few days later, Beca sat in the middle of the forest, her legs crisscrossed while she listened to the wind blow the trees. She pulled at the grass and ripped it from the roots, twiddling it between her thumb and forefinger. The forest floor twinkled with spots of shades and sun. It was a few miles deep where a few picnic tables were set up and a landmark for Chloe to find, but far enough away from Atlanta to be noticeable. Chloe thought this was a hiking date and Beca felt like she was a volcano about to erupt. She had a change of clothes all wrapped up in a blanket, which Chloe would think is there for them to set up a picnic after their hike. Beca had given this speech twice now to two different people, neither of which felt as important and nerve-racking as this. She just wanted to say it right and do everything the perfect way. She wanted to do in a way that didn't scare Chloe or make her run in the opposite direction. Her hands were shaking and her eyes were burning red, which she was having trouble changing them back. The warmer her brand got, the more her stomach fluttered. The breeze hit her skin, but no amount of wind cooled her off.

"Hey Cutie," At the sound of Chloe's voice Beca forced her eyes back to a blue. After which, she turned her head to find Chloe approaching her in a tank top, sports bra, and yoga pants. She had all the gear necessary for a hike and Beca couldn't help but think about how absolutely beautiful she was. Her hair was up in a bun to match the surprisingly warm day in mid-October.

Beca's throat went dry when she swallowed, "Hey baby," Her voice came out raspy when she stood up. Beca had chosen herself an outfit that she didn't quite care about losing if she needed to. She was wearing simple black shorts, a maroon tee shirt, and maroon shoes to match. She had pulled her hair up halfway and left the back down which covered the back of her neck.

Chloe met Beca at a bridge over the river and they started walking, but Beca was already quiet in her own thoughts. She had spent the last hour going over a speech in her head about what to say to Chloe and how to say it. In fact, she was so lost in thought about what she was going to say, she hardly realized that Chloe had started talking about her day and how weird Aubrey had been acting for the past two days. Instead of listening, Beca was staring around the forest and hearing only her heartbeat in her ears. "Becs," Chloe finally said as she cocked her head to the side and grabbed onto Beca's hand. At the physical touch from her mate, Beca turned her full and undivided attention to Chloe. The redhead frowned and stopped walking, "Is everything alright?"

Beca looked behind them and realized they were already a half mile from the picnic tables and Beca hadn't said a word since they left. To Beca, it hadn't felt like that much time had passed at all. Had Chloe been talking to her the whole time? Had she been ignoring her mate? Beca shook her head and cleared her throat, "I have to tell you something." She finally said, her eyes locking with Chloe's. Beca could see the worry that was captured in Chloe's eyes. The redhead could tell that Beca was out of her head and she wanted to understand why. Beca wished she had brought a bottle of water out with them.

"Okay…" Chloe furrowed her brow at Beca as the brunette walked her a little farther in the woods, pulling Chloe along by her hand, "What's going on?" By now, Beca was sure that Chloe could feel the way her hands were shaking.

"I really don't know how to say this." Beca let the words fall out of her mouth and they hardly felt like they were coming from her, "I, uh, I don't want to freak you out," She was hardly talking above a whisper and she turned to Chloe to make sure that the redhead could hear what she was about to say, "And I am so afraid you are going to run for the hills when I tell you."

Chloe looked down at Beca's hands and gripped them a bit tighter - a reassuring smile filled in her lips, "Becs, you can tell me anything. I'm not going anywhere." Beca pulled her hands out of Chloe's and took a few steps away, "Baby, what's going on?"

Beca wrapped her hands around her head and took a deep breath before looking Chloe in the eye, "I'm different. My roommates and I are, I mean." Beca already felt like she was already going about it the wrong way. Chloe squinted as she was trying to follow the conversation, "We're different because…" Beca's heart was racing and she actually felt like the words just wouldn't come out of her mouth, "It might be better if I just show you." Chloe furrowed an eyebrow at her girlfriend.

Beca walked ahead to a waterfall that counted as another mile marker outside of the city. That meant they were four miles outside of Atlanta and civilization. By the riverside, Beca took off her shoes and pulled her shirt off her back, "Becs? What is going on?" Chloe looked around to make sure they were alone as Beca stripped her shirt and shorts. She was making an attempt to avoid ripping apart another outfit as Chloe added, "If you wanted to go skinny dipping all you had to do was ask…" It was a nervous rambling and Beca knew it. The two had never gone passed making out, in part because Beca couldn't risk how badly her wolf wanted to _claim _Chloe. The most intimate moment they shared was in the shower before they had even started dating.

Beca took a breath in through her nose and out threw her mouth. She closed her eyes. Just as she had a million times before, she began to transform. Her bones reconfigured and slid into different positions. Her eyes turned red in a blink. Her skin stretched to accommodate the new form and fur grew into white with brown tips. Her nose turned into a snout and her eyesight shifted to black and white. Her teeth sharpened into natural canines. Her fingernails grew into dark black claws. Her ears settled into a pointed shape. She landed on all fours, her paws feeling the soft forest floor beneath them.

Then she looked at Chloe.

Chloe's eyes watched Beca in wide-eyed disbelief. Her jaw dropped open and Beca's heart rate was jumping out of her chest. Chloe looked like she was trying to stay as still as she could. Maybe because she thought Beca would attack her if she did move. But she was still. Entirely unmoved and Beca wasn't sure if that was better or worse than a reaction like Aubrey or Benji's. Beca put her nose to the floor in an attempt to show peace. This was a sign of submission in the wolf community, not that Chloe would know that. Still, Beca made an attempt to show Chloe that she wasn't dangerous to her. She bowed her head low to the forest floor and lower her tail between her hind legs.

Chloe stayed still and moments passed them by without any reaction at all. Beca wasn't sure what she would do. She was afraid of Chloe running away from her if she did move. So she stayed still and waited. She waited for a sign that Chloe was reacting positively. When no kind of reaction came at all, Beca decided to make an attempt at changing that. She stood slowly and made no sudden movements. She took it one paw at a time and kept her body low to the ground. Chloe eyed her with each step though, Chloe's facial expression stayed the same. She looked as if she was in shock and Beca wasn't sure she could blame the redhead for that. When she got within two steps of her, Chloe moved both hands over her mouth and covered it. The redhead stared back at her with wide eyes. Beca could've sworn that Chloe was about to cry and the wolf couldn't tell what kind of reaction that was at all. Not knowing what to do next, Beca sat down where she was and stared up at Chloe. And she waited.

Beca was surprised at the sudden movement when Chloe dropped to her knees. In this new position, Chloe was eye level with Beca's wolf form. Beca stayed still and watched as Chloe moved her hands from around her mouth and, without scaring Beca, The redhead wrapped her arms around the wolfs neck and hugged her. Beca could feel Chloe's fingers running through her fur and holding her tight. In this position, Chloe's neck came to Beca's snout. Beca paused, shocked by Chloe's reaction. All at once it made Beca's wolf want to howl, to react, _to claim. _But Beca forced herself to freeze and allow Chloe to adjusted. Once Chloe settled in the position, Beca lifted her head up and laid her snout on Chloe's shoulder, "Beca?" Chloe asked.

Beca whined into Chloe's shoulder as a confirmation that _Yes, It's me._

Chloe let go and looked Beca in her red eyes, still on her knees in front of the wolf. Beca took a chance and licked the side of Chloe's face and for the first time since Beca transformed, Chloe smiled, "Hi, there" Chloe said and Beca licked her face again. Chloe giggled and Beca pulled away. When she did, Chloe watched her with wide eyes. Beca turned around and sauntered over to the blanket she brought with her and picked it up with her mouth. She brought it back over to Chloe and made a poor attempt at unfolding the blanket, before Chloe took it from her, "You want this?" Chloe asked and Beca nodded. Chloe unfolded the blanket and wrapped it around the wolf. Beca took it in her mouth and kept it around her as she transformed back into her human form.

Once she was human, she wrapped the blanket around her body, but stared at Chloe before making any other movements. Chloe swallowed and stood up, their eyes meeting, "I…" Beca couldn't find the words to say.

"You're different." Chloe smiled half heartedly.

"Yeah." Beca confirmed, "It's a bit of a long story."

Chloe took a step toward Beca and pulled the blanket further around the brunette, making sure her girlfriend was entirely covered, "I've got time." She confirmed. Beca nodded and turned back around to the spare clothes she brought with her. Chloe held the blanket up around her as Beca dressed into her spare change of clothes. "So, You and your roommates are… wolves?" Beca was honestly beyond herself with how Chloe was reacting.

Beca finished dressing and wrapped her first outfit up in a ball to put under her shoulder The two started walking through the forest as Beca replied, "Yes, we are. Genetic Lycanthropy technically. We're a pack." Beca explained, "They're my pack."

Chloe nodded and Beca could see the gears turning inside Chloe's head, "Did you actually live in Maine?"

"I haven't lied to you about anything I didn't have to. I hope you understand why I hadn't told you before now. We have to be careful." Beca said, her voice full of nerves and shame, "Stacie, Jesse, Emily, and I moved from Maine. We all grew up in the same pack. Benji joined us shortly after we came to Barden."

Chloe nodded, "Okay… and what does all that mean?"

Beca took a deep breath. This conversation was going to last a long time and even longer than just this one. It would last for days, even weeks for Beca to make sure that Chloe knew everything. That is, if she was even interested in knowing and didn't disappear after she found it all out, "Well… a pack is a group of wolves led by two Alphas and consists of Betas. An Alpha is kind of another word for the leader…" Beca didn't want to make it feel like a lecture, but it was a long story, "Alphas and Betas present when they turn sixteen. Alpha's have red eyes, betas have yellow."

"So you're an Alpha of your... pack," Chloe added as she linked their fingers together. Beca hardly expected Chloe to recognize that her wolf's eyes were red, "Is Stacie the other?"

_No, that would be you. _Beca coughed, "I am, but um, no. Stacie is a Beta and that's a bit more complicated. You see… wolves have mates."

"Mates.." just hearing Chloe say the word made Beca's throat dry. This was what her wolf had been dying over for a month since she'd met Chloe. Since her Brand burned for the first time at the Activites fair not so long ago.

"Wolves mate for life." Beca stopped walking and looked at Chloe. Chloe turned to her and her eyes were watching Beca intently. Beca took Chloe's hands in her own, "We have supernatural abilities and one of those, includes knowing when something is right." Beca cleared her throat as the realization hit Chloe, "There's uh. My tattoo." Beca clenched her eyes at jumbling her words. She pulled up her sleeve, ensuring that one hand was still holding Chloe's. Chloe looked at the brand intently, "It's really a brand for my pack. And when I'm near my mate… it gets really warm. It almost… burns." Beca felt like she was outside of her body watching everything play out.

Chloe's eyes were burning through her skull and the redhead bit her lip. With her free hand she ran her hand over the ridges of Beca's brand, "Is it.. warm now?" Chloe asked, her eyes looking at the brand as her fingers traced it. Beca took a sharp breath in when Chloe touched it.

Beca could only nod. Her brand was burning to the point of actual pain. Her wolf was screaming to take control of the situation, to _claim. _Beca had already had a hard time holding it back. Now that Chloe knew the truth, it only made Beca want her more. She was understanding, kind, and she was _listening. _It was nearly impossible for Beca to stay still when Chloe was so close to her. She wondered how her wolf would react if Chloe actually agreed to all of this. Chloe's lips ghosted over Beca's and her breath was hot against Beca's skin. Beca cleared her throat and took a big step back, "I have a lot to tell you.." Her voice was strained and raspy.

Chloe nodded and licked her lips in an attempt to recompose herself, "Right. You were saying...about mates?" Chloe raised her eyebrows at Beca.

"This all sounds crazy, doesn't it?" Beca couldn't help herself but ask. She needed to know what was going through Chloe's mind and she wouldn't be surprised if the redhead thought the whole thing was insane. She was already shocked she'd gotten this far.

Chloe giggled and Beca couldn't help but think of how infectious her laugh was, "To tell you the truth Becs, if I hadn't just watched you.." Chloe nodded back to the waterfall and Beca knew she was talking about her transformation, "I would've thought the whole thing was crazy. But I just saw it...How could I say it isn't real? I mean, either that or this is one complicated dream." Beca was thankful for Chloe being able to joke about it. She wasn't like anyone else in the world.

Beca took a deep breath in and let it out very slow. They started walking again, "When we're really young, we're taught that every wolf has a mate. Kind of like a…"

"Soulmate," Chloe confirmed.

"Mates are destined to be together, y-yes," Beca was only pretending to have some type of composure at this point, "and they can be anyone. Wolf or not." Chloe tightened her grip on Beca's hand, "Though, an Alpha's mate is most usually born wolf because it's not often that a turned human is a Beta."

"Turned human…" Chloe repeated the words and Beca froze, realizing only just now that she hadn't talked about that at all.

"Wolf law states that a wolf can't stay with a human who is human alone." Beca felt small saying the words out loud, "To mate properly, a human must turn." Beca added, "An Alpha's relationship is most important to the health of the pack. A pack at it's best has two Alpha wolves who compliment one another's leadership styles." This was where the conversation diverted from what she had to tell the Betas, to what she had to tell Chloe in particular.

Chloe was piecing the puzzle together well considering how poorly Beca was easing around the real topic, "You mean that you think if I… turned… I'd be an Alpha wolf, like you?"

Beca chuckled and licked her lips, "I know you would be." She stopped walking. At this point, they weren't getting very far on a walk anyway. She pulled Chloe close to her and wrapped her arms around Chloe's neck, "Chloe. You are my mate." Chloe smiled as if she had been waiting for Beca to say the words to her and Beca looked down at the ground in relative shame, "I'm so sorry that this is the first time you've heard about all of this. This is a lot of baggage to carry around and if you don't want to be a part of any of this, I understand…"

Before Beca could continue, Chloe captured her lips and kissed her _hard. _It was a kiss that left Beca's lips bruised, ground their teeth together, and left them both breathless. Beca took the kiss in and licked Chloe's bottom lip to gain access. As soon as Chloe allowed it, Beca explored Chloe's mouth with her tongue and the only thoughts she had left in her mind were to take Chloe as hers and _claim her _on the spot. Luckily, Chloe pulled away before Beca could lose herself. As the two girls made an attempt to catch their breath, Chloe leaned her forehead on Beca's and for the first time in their relationship, Beca didn't force her eyes to return to a deep blue. She allowed them to stay red and allowed Chloe to see them in their natural form, "I know this all sounds crazy, but I want you, Beca Mitchell. And whatever that means being apart of I want that too." Chloe's voice was raspy and breathless.

Beca squeezed her eyes shut and backed away, "I want you too, Chloe. Which is why I'm telling all of this to you now. I don't want our relationship to be based off lies. I want to be honest with you. I don't want you to answer right now. I want to tell you everything and I want you to make a decision for yourself. And I want you to be sure of it for yourself. Not for me, but for you. Because I don't want this if you don't want all of this. Not just for me, but for you."

Chloe looked down at her shoes and then back up to Beca, "Okay. I will think about it."

"Okay." And Beca went on. She told Chloe about everything she could think of. She told her about her mother and her father's packs. She explained why her brand was the combination of her parent's family crests. She explained that she had come from a long line of Alpha's and what it meant to be an Alpha. She went into great detail about what abilities came with being a wolf, both pros and cons as well as mating and the mating mark. She told Chloe about the hardest times she experienced as an Alpha and that even though she'd been through a lot that she wouldn't change anything for the world. She told Chloe that it came with the responsibility of everyone in the pack and how she would be able to control Betas, but that Beca believed in freedom despite traditional wolf law. Beca was honest about how she had been looked down on by the elders for her beliefs, but that she didn't believe in ownership over a family. And she didn't skim over the responsibilities of what an Alpha was expected to uphold in the community either. The responsibilities that included "owning" Betas and taking responsibility for their actions. The ones that said that any claim her Beta's made to a human would be the Alpha's claim. The ones that said if Beca and Chloe _mated _they would be owned by one another as well as the Alphas of the group. She was open and completely truthful about everything she could possibly think about. And it wasn't until Beca gave her absolutely everything she could think to say that they headed back to Atlanta. Once back by the city, they parted ways, on the promise that Chloe would keep from telling anyone anything with the exception of the pack and Aubrey, which Beca filled Chloe in that Stacie had told Aubrey and that Aubrey was Stacie's mate.

"I'm not going to try to talk to you," Beca told Chloe, "I really want you to take a few days to think about all of this by yourself and when you come back, then you can tell me what you think. But not till you figure it out for yourself."

Chloe opened her mouth to disagree and Beca could see the way that Chloe wanted to make up her mind now. Beca was grateful for it, but Chloe said nothing. She closed her mouth and kissed Beca on the cheek and they went their separate ways - not to be together for a few days - when Chloe would let her know how she felt.

_Just a few days of hell, that's all. _


	11. Chapter 11 - An Alpha's Orders

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"You will not call Chloe." Beca had been repeating it for hours on end and it was almost all she said. She was laying in her bed and she was bleeding. Her eyes were burning fire red. Her stomach was bleeding and it was black and blue. Her Betas could see it coming through the white shirt. Her arms and legs were covered in bruises and cuts alike. She had hit her head and gotten herself an engorged wound on her stomach. She likely had a concussion, to say the least, and they were having a hard time keeping the wound from bleeding. She had gone in and out of consciousness on their way back to the apartment. Stacie had blood all over her blouse and Jesse had it all over his jeans. It was the most blood any of them had seen since they were young and it was coming from a member of their pack - _their family_. It was hard for them not to freak out about it.

It was three days after Chloe and Beca had their talk and Beca had kept her word about not reaching out until Chloe reached out to her. Aubrey hadn't gotten back to Stacie either. In an attempt to find something to do, the girls accompanied Jesse to an interview at a local radio station on the corner. Beca had, without trying, gotten a job there by recommending a better song for a mix to the owner. He was an older guy with a good ear. He gave Jesse and Beca both a job and told them that they would be working with his grandson and the manager of the place, Luke. It was on their way out of the radio station that Jesse had mistakenly crossed the road too early when a speeding car wasn't paying attention. Beca had knocked him out of the way and taken the blow herself, landing them in quite a mess. Stacie told the driver to leave or they would press charges, while Jesse helped Beca stand. The two wolves dragged her back to the apartment best they could and Stacie took care of her wounds. And all the while, Beca repeated the phrase, "You will not call Chloe."

Stacie wouldn't lie, the first thought that crossed her mind was to call Chloe. It was the best thing for Beca and the best way for Beca to heal. When a mate was present, a wolf healed faster. It was natural for the wolf to be taken care of by their mate in the community. Even without the mating mark or turning, Chloe would be more helpful to Beca than the rest of her pack was. Which is why Stacie found herself caught between a rock and a hard place. She couldn't disobey her Alpha, but she could practically say that her Alpha wasn't in her right mind. Stacie had the entire pack working to help her clean and care for her. They had wrapped the bigger wounds in bandages and helped her change into clean sweats and a tee shirt. It was nearly an hour and a half of work before the group could settle down and let Beca rest. They took turns being on watch and Stacie took the first.

"I'm only saying that it would help," Stacie mumbled, "And she knows about everything now. We can just explain it to her. You know that she'd come running. We all do."

Beca was covered in blankets and struggling to keep warm, "I told her I'd give her time. That I would wait until she was ready." Beca coughed and her voice was hoarse. If she was human, she would've needed stitches. If she was human, it would've warranted a trip to the hospital. If she was human, the wounds would've taken weeks to heal and she might have needed surgery. But that was from Stacie's first-year pre-med opinion, which probably meant it was worse than she thought.

"Beca you're going to double the time it would take the heal if you don't tell her." Stacie leaned forward and put her hands on her knees, "If you're not going to tell her, give me some of the pain." Stacie wished that she had the ability to do it without asking Beca for permission. She wished that she could help Beca despite Beca's refusal to accept the help. She wished she could do anything besides just sit there and watch Beca deal with the pain.

Beca opened her eyes and she had no control over how red they were, "Absolutely not, Stacie. I'll be fine. It'll just be a few days." She winced as she turned away from her beta to get more comfortable.

At the twenty-four hour mark, Beca wasn't looking much better and Stacie was worried. Truth be told, they all were. She had a fever and after a car accident, a fever was never a good sign. Even with her speed healing, Beca would be off her feet for days - longer without Chloe nearby. Besides that, she was in pain and it was getting hard to listen to her groan. Human medicine wouldn't do anything for her, it never helped the wolves. Usually, with fast healing, they didn't have to worry about it. She was healing faster than a human ever would, it just took more time than Stacie was willing to let Beca suffer.

"We have to tell Chloe." Stacie had called a pack meeting in the living room while Beca slept.

Jesse shook his head, "I just can't believe she did that. It should be me."

"She's your Alpha. Of course, she did it," Emily added, her eyes shifting between the older two wolves, Jesse and Stacie.

"Besides if it were you than you wouldn't have a mate to help," Stacie added as she hugged her knees closer.

"She said not to tell Chloe," Benji said in an uneasy tone while throwing a blanket over him and Emily.

"She said not to _call _Chloe," Stacie corrected and the group of wolves looked up to her. She bit her lip at the wide eyes staring back her.

"That's a poor choice of words," Jesse chuckled to himself.

"Are you guys really going to…" Emily squinted at both of the wolves, who seemed to be loving the idea of a loophole, "She's not going to like it." The brunette added.

"Well, if that's that…" Stacie stood up, grabbed her coat off the rack, and headed for the door.

And that is how Stacie found herself standing at the door to Chloe's dorm, pacing back and forth before finally taking the chance and knocking. At first, it was silence that met the knock and Stacie, having all the loyalty to Beca, thought about disappearing. She knew what she was doing was what Beca needed, but she was ignoring her Alpha's command. Sort of. She knew Beca wouldn't be happy with her loophole, but it was the right thing to do. Even if it was the third or fourth time she had disobeyed Beca since they had arrived in Atlanta. Stacie repeated that phrase _it's the right thing to do _over and over in her head until the door opened. Unfortunately, it wasn't Chloe. It was Aubrey.

"Stace..." Aubrey mumbled. It was awkward and uncomfortable, but Stacie didn't have time for either of those feelings. She didn't have time to think about how it had been a week since she told Aubrey the truth and how she hadn't heard from Aubrey since. She didn't have time to think about whether or not Aubrey was going to stay in her life or never talk to her again because of who she was.

"Hey, is Chloe around? I really need to talk to her." By now, Stacie's hands were shaking and she could hardly stay in the same place. She was bouncing up and down with anticipation.

Aubrey opened the door further to let Stacie into Chloe's dorm. The room was bright, vibrant, and very _Chloe. _The walls were covered in pictures, a bulletin board, and string lights. There was a Wonder Years Banner, textbooks, books to read for fun. There were flowers and pink bed sheets. Her room was quite the opposite of her mates and Stacie couldn't help but notice it. In some ways, she knew that it was fate, giving the pack what they needed. Beca and Chloe were two halves of a whole and it couldn't have been more obvious. As soon as she walked in, Stacie started to pace. Chloe sat up on her bed and sat her laptop aside to give Stacie her full attention, "Stacie, hi."

"Chloe, I need you to come back to the apartment," Stacie said and Aubrey closed the door. Aubrey folded her arms and leaned on the door as she watched her girlfriend pace.

"Stacie, what's going on? Are you okay?" Chloe got up off the bed and Aubrey came to stand next to Chloe.

Stacie stopped walking and looked Chloe in the eye, "Beca got hit by a car."

"What? Are you kidding? Is she okay? Is she in the hospital?" Chloe almost immediately went to grab her wallet, keys, and started packing a bag.

"Are you alright?" Aubrey asked a hand outstretched to Stacie's shoulder.

"I'm fine. And No, we can't go to the hospital." Both girls looked at Stacie, puzzled, "Medicine doesn't help us. We have fast healing." She explained, "Which is faster if your mate is present…" The words came out slower and the realization hit Chloe like a ton of bricks. Chloe and Aubrey looked back and forth at each other.

"Come on, we can take my car." Aubrey grabbed her keys as Chloe finished packing and the small group ran out of the room.

The girls jet down the hall and out into Aubrey's car, "When did this happen?" Chloe asked as they got in.

"Yesterday," Stacie confirmed as she took a spot in the back seat of Aubrey's honda accord.

"This happened yesterday and no one told me?" Chloe's eyes looked like they could pierce through Stacie's whole body. Without turning, without being a wolf, Stacie could feel her presence.

Chloe would make a good Alpha.

Stacie stuttered, "She wanted to give you time. She told you she wouldn't reach out to you." Chloe looked back at Stacie. The redhead was trying to figure out the new dynamics that had to do with the pack. It was still new and she was processing. Stacie twiddled her thumbs as she added, "She gave me a direct order not to call you." Chloe looked Stacie over as Aubrey pulled out of the parking lot. The girl had obviously been scared to come this far and tell Chloe anything after Beca had told her not to, "I mean, she told me not to call you but technically she didn't say anything about telling you." Stacie smirked in a small sort of way but kept her eyes towards the ground. She had no idea how to act around Chloe. Would Chloe be mad she disobeyed Beca? Would she be glad she did?

Chloe sighed, "You're supposed to follow an Alpha's orders," She stated it as she was thinking it through, trying to understand where Stacie's obvious anxiety was coming from. She looked Stacie in the eye when she added, "You're disobeying her by coming here, aren't you?"' Stacie only nodded in confirmation and Chloe put a hand on Stacie's knee, "Thank you."

"Of course," Stacie replied.

"So, what happened?" Aubrey asked Stacie and looked at her in the review mirror.

"We were on our way back from a job interview with Jesse. He wasn't looking where he was going and didn't see the car. Beca pushed him out of the way," Stacie looked between the review mirror and Chloe as she spoke, "I'm sorry to drag you guys out here like this. We really wanted to give you all time to decide-"

"I'm glad you told us," Aubrey told her.

Chloe was the first person inside the apartment when they got there and the slam of the front door caused the whole pack to come out from their rooms. Aubrey followed Chloe and Stacie was the last to walk in. Chloe was making a beeline for Beca's room, but Stacie caught her by the wrist before she walked in, "Chloe, wait." Chloe turned and looked at her, concern brimming at the corners of her eyes, "She's going to be mad. When you go in. You're not supposed to be here and -"

Chloe put a hand on Stacie's shoulder, "It'll be okay."

That being said, everyone took a step back and Chloe entered the room alone. Beca's room was dark with the black shades covering the windows. Beca was covered by a heap of blankets and Chloe could still see her shivering. Chloe shut the door quietly behind her. She walked to the edge of the bed until she could finally see Beca's face. Beca's face was bruised and scratched and Chloe covered her mouth at the sight. Tears filled the edges of her eyes as she sat down in a chair next to the bed, "Oh, Becs…"

Chloe put her hands out and grabbed onto Becas, rubbing her thumb over the back of Beca's hand. At the physical touch of her mate, Beca's brand began to heat up and burn in her shoulder. Almost immediately, Beca's eyes shot open and she looked at Chloe. The first thing Chloe noticed was that Beca's eyes were red like her wolfs. Beca cleared her throat before asking, "Chlo, what're you doing here?"

Chloe bit her lip and opened her mouth to speak, but she was cut off, "I brought her here Beca. You need the help." Stacie was standing in the doorway peaking in.

Beca sat up too quickly in the wrong way and Beca winced, "I told you not to." Her voice was commanding and rigid.

Stacie looked to the ground again and Chloe could see the anxiety filling the betas stomach. This was what Stacie was afraid of. She didn't want to upset Beca, but Chloe knew she was doing the right thing. Chloe cleared her throat, "She was following _my _order."

Beca whipped her head around to Chloe, a death stare present in her eyes. In fact, both girls were staring at Chloe with wide eyes, "I told her to tell me if anything happened." Chloe nodded toward Stacie, "And she did." Chloe looked at Beca with unwavering confidence, "She didn't know what to do with two contradicting commands from her _Alphas." _Chloe shrugged.

Beca cocked an eyebrow at Chloe, "You're not-" She started.

"But I will be." Chloe had no hesitation in her voice, "I will be her Alpha soon enough and I am _your mate_. Stacie didn't do anything wrong. You needed me so she came and got me." When Beca didn't have the words to respond because Chloe had beaten her at her own game, Chloe added, "Stacie, you can go now. I can handle this." Stacie left the room with _thank you _and Beca just stared at Chloe, entirely baffled. Chloe stood from her chair and walked around to the other side of the bed, "You need to rest, Becs." Chloe tried to continue on and act like what she said meant nothing at all.

Beca watched Chloe walk around the bed and pull the covers down. Chloe laid down in the bed and Beca watched. It wasn't until Chloe pulled her down on the bed that Beca stopped staring. Chloe wrapped both of them both in the fluffy comforter and she settled into bed, face to face with Beca. Beca swallowed at the sudden closeness and her throat ran dry. She wanted to be mad. She wanted to fight Chloe on it. She wanted to be mad at Stacie. But she couldn't. In all honesty, it was Chloe's right. Even without turning, Chloe was to be their Alpha. And Beca had no right to fight her on it. Beca may not have been used to someone else having the right to command, but it was something she would have to get used to. She had never felt like she wasn't in command, but in this situation, she wasn't, "Do you really mean all of that?" She asked, her eyes looking over Chloe's eyes, face, expression, _lips_.

"Mean all of what?" Chloe put a hand around Beca's waist, careful to avoid any of her bandages while bringing Beca's body closer. Beca couldn't help enjoying the snuggle, even if she wasn't one for physical affection. Chloe was warm and the closer she was, the warmer her brand got and spread through her body.

Beca put a hand on Chloe's neck and rubbed the back of her head. Beca hadn't felt this vulnerable her entire life, but it felt _right. _She felt taken care of and cared for. For the first time in her life, she didn't feel like she had to hold everything together, "Becoming a wolf, an Alpha, my _mate,_ all of it?"

Chloe bit her lip and stared Beca in the eye, "Of course I did. I wouldn't say that lightly."

A flush filled in Beca's cheeks a rosy pink, "Thank you." She mumbled and Chloe wasn't sure what it was for but didn't need to know either. With her free hand, Chloe ran it through Beca's hair. Beca leaned in a pressed a kiss to Chloe's lips. Chloe kissed her back with more strength than Beca had in her body and Beca let out a small whimper.

Chloe pulled away and smiled at her mate, "Now, let's talk about this whole jumping in front of a car thing," She giggled and Beca shook her head, "Personally, I'd prefer if you didn't do that anymore."

"You know, I was actually planning on doing it tomorrow so…" Beca raised her eyebrows and wiggled her nose.

Both girls laughed, "But seriously," Chloe said, "Are you okay?"

Beca snuggled her head into Chloe's chest and Chloe wrapped Beca up in a hug, "I will be," Beca confirmed, "I will be."


	12. Chapter 12-The Things I Haven't Told You

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"Beca, you were hit by a car three days ago," Chloe argued as she watched Beca finish getting dressed. Beca winced as she wrapped a maroon button down on her shoulders over her Bra. For the most part, the cuts and bruises had gone away. It was the deeper cut on her stomach and the bump on her head that wouldn't leave her be. She had slept for the most part of the two days, only sitting up for the meals Chloe brought her. Chloe had taken care of her nonstop. No one let Beca leave Chloe's side and Chloe made sure Beca was taken care of. Chloe helped wrap Beca's wounds and took care of everything around the house. With Aubrey's help, the two kept the house together. Aubrey cleaned up, took care of the laundry, and helped Jesse cook for everyone. Chloe had the pack direct their questions to Chloe to see if she could help without having to ask Beca. In fact, in those few days, Chloe learned a lot about their pack dynamics and in return, the pack started treating her as a real Alpha while Beca was incapacitated. After all, it felt as natural for them to treat her as an Alpha as it did for her to lead. In Chloe's spare time, she added some personality to the apartment that they were lacking. She ordered picture frames and string lights and took pictures off Stacie's phone to hand around the house.

Still, by the third day, Beca was eager to get back on her feet, considered she had much to get done and an entire pack to lead. Though it always felt that way, she had even more to do than before. With Chloe deciding to join and Aubrey following shortly behind, they had a lot to discuss and handle. Chloe has watched her closely and stayed both nights to take care of her, regardless of whether Beca wanted it. But Beca was ready to move forward with the pack. She wanted to get Chloe and Aubrey initiated into the pack. They needed to get both of them training and she was honestly excited to show Chloe her side of life. Both Chloe and Aubrey, in only two days, had found a place in the group that made them feel like they belonged. With them both, it was like the pack had gained something they didn't even know they were missing. But bringing them into the folds meant a lot of long conversations, which Beca decided was long overdue.

"Chlo, I'm fine," Beca promised, but they both knew it was an empty promise. Chloe could see that she was in pain. But the look Beca was giving Chloe was one that wouldn't accept paying in bed for another day and Chloe wasn't going to push it. She'd already gotten away with keeping Beca in bed without leading her pack, she knew Beca wouldn't take another. That being said, Beca went into the living room for breakfast. All eyes were to the Alpha as she entered the living room for the first time in days.

Everyone was spread out from the breakfast bar to the dining room table, to the couch with various versions of breakfast and coffee. Beca went to sit at the breakfast bar, with Chloe following short behind, where Jesse had put out a big plate of breakfast for Chloe. As he watched the girls walk over, he poured a simple cup of black coffee for Beca. Emily and Benji were sprawled out on the couch cuddling. Stacie was hardly awake on the love seat, covering her head with her blanket and evading the morning lights. Aubrey was sitting at the dining room table enjoying breakfast in a rather traditional way and Jesse joined her.

Beca cleared her throat and it got the groups attention, "So, I think we should get started with orienting Chloe and Aubrey to the pack." Beca spoke and her words increased the amount of attention she got by tenfold. Now everyone in the room was looking at her with wide eyes, including Chloe with eyes like the assure sky. No one had expected her to say it because they all knew she needed more time to heal.

"Beca, are you sure-" Chloe mumbled.

Beca put a hand on Chloe's knee and said, "But we have a few things to talk about first." The whole room was silent. They all knew it was true, this conversation was a long time coming since the day Beca and Stacie met Chloe and Beca, "Well, first thing's is first. A pack that lives together, stays together. I think it would be well advised if Chloe and Aubrey moved in." Chloe and Aubrey exchanged a look between them that Beca couldn't quite make out, "If you aren't up for it, I'd never take away that freedom."

'_Beca, if your mom comes back to find that you and your mate aren't living together, she's going to throw a fit.' _Jesse stated it as fact, but only through thought so Aubrey and Chloe couldn't hear him.

"I can handle my mother," Beca stated out loud, her eyes on Jesse.

"What?" Chloe asked.

"We'll talk about it later," Beca continued, "If either of you wants to move in, we can change the room arrangements to keep relationships from moving too fast. I only bring it up because the first few days of adjustment after turning are important and you'll need us nearby."

"I don't mind moving in," Aubrey mentioned before Beca went into any more detail. Stacie, now wide awake, eyed her girlfriend, "What? We are soulmates, aren't we? I think we can handle it." Stacie only giggled.

Beca stared at Chloe, feeling sorry she hadn't brought it up in private first, but Chloe only smiled with all of her teeth, "I don't either. This place could use my decorating skills," Chloe winked and Beca rolled her eyes, "plus it's much bigger than our dorms."

Beca let out a breath she didn't know she was holding. They had only been dating for five weeks, but it was much different from a regular relationship. It was a big leap for Chloe and Aubrey to just accept that they had soulmates, but after seeing Stacie and Beca turn, it was hard not to believe in the extraordinary, "In that case, I'd like to focus the day on moving them out of the dorms. Jesse, do you mind calling some movers?" Jesse only nodded in agreement.

"We don't need movers, Beca, we can't pay for all that," Aubrey cut in.

"Don't worry about the money. We'll take care of it." Beca told her, "I have to go out and get a few things. I'd like to do this tonight, though." The group nodded back at her and Beca stood up, "We'll meet in the east forest at sunset."

"I'm coming with you," Chloe said it as a matter of fact and Beca's eyes deadpanned to her.

"I told you I was fine-" Beca started.

"I wasn't asking," Chloe shrugged, "and Maybe not everything is about you. Shopping sounds fun."

Beca rolled her eyes, "I'm not going shop-"

Stacie chimed in to cut her off, "Ohhh, shopping does sound fun! This place could use some more color." Chloe clapped her hands and all of a sudden this was a group trip that Beca found herself dreading.

Regardless, the next thing Beca Mitchell knew, the she-wolf and her pack were at the mall in the city, running ramped through clothing store after clothing store, HomeGoods store after HomeGoods store, and not a single place in sight with the items she'd need for a proper ceremony. Still, she had to admit that it was a good bonding time. Everyone picked out favorite outfits and the wolves picked plenty enough to cover what they had lost to transformations. They picked out banners and canvas art alike. Beca couldn't think for sure the reason they hadn't gone out to get items to decorate before, but she could only assume it was because they didn't have Chloe around brighten their life. Beca couldn't help but smile at her girlfriend as she ran from rack to rack, picking items out and filling up their cart with ease.

"We'll split it all up at checkout?" Aubrey asked as her best friend started to get carried away. Chloe's shoulders slouched at the thought of money, knowing that the trip was getting to be too much to spend on one day out on the town.

Beca and her pack exchanged looks of pure amusement, accompanying with biting lips and silly smirks. Beca looked between Chloe and Aubrey and scratched the back of her head, "We have money and you'll most likely never have to think about that again." She explained.

"What do you mean?" Aubrey folded her arms.

"My family, more or less, is wealthy. I have a trust fund set up to me. The first part of which opened up to me when I turned eighteen and set off with my own pack." Beca scratched at her arms. Money, despite it never being a problem for her, always made her cringe. She never wanted anyone to worry, but more importantly, she didn't want anyone to think less of her because she had money.

"Really? You're a trust fund baby?" Aubrey's tone wasn't as excited as Beca wished it was and the name honestly sounded condescending. Beca frowned and Stacie pinched her in the arm.

"It's to take care of all of us. Shut up." Stacie mumbled.

Chloe cleared her throat and Beca's eyes met hers, "Wow," She opened her lips as wide as they could go with the word, "I don't know what to say. Thank you." Beca nodded in response and cleared her throat in the silence that followed. The others seemed to carry along just fine as Beca slipped into the back of the group. Noticing her girlfriend's unease, Chloe took a step to the back of the group, "Are you okay?" She whispered when the group moved on. Beca bit her lip and Chloe linked their fingers together.

"Yeah. I'm okay." Beca confirmed.

"For someone with money, you don't seem very happy about it," Chloe licked her lips and looked around the store.

"I'm sorry. I just…" Beca stuttered, "I don't want you to think less of me because of it."

Chloe only squeezed her hand tighter, "I would never." Their eyes locked and Beca could see how serious Chloe took the whole thing. Beca smiled and then averted her gaze from Chloe's too look at the clothes - as if anything in a clothing store had ever interested her so much, "So, you said the first part. Does that mean there's a second?"

Beca gulped and looked at Chloe with straight lips, "When I have a mating mark." Beca explained, "And once more if I have kids."

Chloe smiled lightly to Beca and they walked on. Chloe could feel Beca's nervousness on such serious topics, so she decided it was best to come up with something new, "So, what did you need to handle? With your mother I mean?"

Something caught in Beca's throat and she turned it into a laugh, "My mother is… pushy to say the least."

Chloe cocked her head to the side, "She didn't seem to bad when she came to dinner," The redhead said.

"No, but that wasn't really my mother." Beca corrected, "When you came to dinner, you didn't know about anything and trust me she was furious that I hadn't told you the truth. She kind of demanded it, if I'm being honest." Beca sighed, "She wants what's best for me, but as an Alpha, she knows what's best for our pack." The others carried on while Beca stopped and Chloe stopped with her, "You see… It's a just-"

"Aw come on, love birds! Will the two of you get a move on before I regret making Beca talk to you!" Stacie called back from the checkout counter and Beca took a shaky breath in.

The group moved on and Chloe turned her attention back to Beca, "She made you talk to me?" Chloe asked, "I thought you knew we were supposed to be mates." Chloe folded her arms now, a furrowed brow of confusion on her eyebrows.

Beca took a long deep breath in, "I knew. It's a bit of a long story."

"I've got time," Chloe replied, her eyes staring into Beca's soul.

Beca took hold of Chloe's hand and walked the opposite direction of the pack, "My mom and dad got divorced when I was pretty young."

Chloe stared at her and shook her head, "I don't understand, I thought mates…"

"They weren't mates," Beca stated it, blankly watching what was ahead, "My mother is a great leader and from the stories I heard, my mother's mate was her perfect equal in every way. They led a pack that was once hundreds of wolves together. After all, both sides were from long lines of Alphas." She took a breath before skipping to the important part, "My mother's mate died before I was born. If you look closely, you can still see her mating mark. After he died, she thought it would be best to move on and find another one to help lead her pack. But we only ever get one mate. She married my father soon after and merged their packs. My dad is also a great Alpha from a long line and the marriage was a match made in heaven, theoretically. They held it together the best they could, but they couldn't take it. They broke their pack in half when they got divorced."

Chloe put a hand over Beca's shoulder and rubbed it lightly, "Becs, I had no idea-"

Beca pulled her shoulder away as she continued, "It's not a story I like to tell. Not one my mother brings up either. In fact, none of my Betas talk about it. It was a terrible time for the entire pack. Losing an Alpha is hard and some pack's never fully recover. She did." Beca crumbled into herself and crossed her arms, "I hope you'll see where my fears come from when it comes to mates. I know my parents weren't meant to be, fate's...fate." She sighed, "Ever since, my mother has been adamant about me meeting my mate and creating a strong bond for my pack's sake. Mated Alpha's make a pack stronger. I never knew whether I wanted it. Everyone always told me that I'd feel most vulnerable with my mate. I hate feeling vulnerable. My mother has been telling me since then that I would meet another Alpha and together we'd create strong enough bonds to last a lifetime." Chloe sighed and bit her lips at the words. Beca swallowed, "I never expected my mate to be human." Beca finally looked Chloe in the eye again and the stare was intense in the corner of clothing racks and a sunroof.

"I..." Chloe didn't know what to say.

"My mother didn't get a choice in who her mate was or when he died," Beca hated herself for the tears forming in her eyes, "I didn't want to take away your choices by bringing you into this life. Into being a wolf and an Alpha. I wanted you to have a choice in the matter. I didn't want fate to decide anything for you because _I _talked to you." A moment passed between them filled with silence as tears slid down Beca's cheeks, "Stacie and the other's made me realize that by not letting fate happen, by trying to stop it, I was taking away your freedom to choose what you really wanted with all of the choices on the table."

Chloe put a hand up and this time, Beca let her reach out to touch. Chloe put a hand on Beca's face and wiped away her tears. Beca tried to stop crying, but every time she blinked more dripped down and off her face. Chloe took in Beca's entire figure and her closed off state. Even in her most vulnerable state, Beca was trying her best to protect herself. Chloe pulled Beca in by the waist and hugged her tight, "I love you, Beca Mitchell." The words came out in a blur to Chloe, but never any less true. Chloe hadn't meant to say it so soon, but the words came out in the right way and naturally.

Beca wiped her tears away and pulled back again, not far enough to be out of Chloe's arms, but enough to look Chloe in the eye, "I hate dragging you into all of this. Alpha matings are so much quicker than Betas because they're about pulling the pack together and my mother is the most frustrating woman in the world she will pester you and I until we mate and she will give me every lecture in the books about how much stronger it makes a pack and-"

Before Beca could continue, Chloe crashed their lips together in a fierce, fiery passion. And All Beca could do about it was _give in. _Her heart was racing. Her shoulder was at the level of a third-degree burn. Her entire body was warm and even warmer with Chloe's body flat against hers. It was a kiss that was about teeth clashing, tongue intertwining, and lips wet against one another. It was a rush that stopped Beca's mind from racing with explanations and left her all but speechless. It was extravagant and burning and left her entire body shaking by the time Chloe pulled away. Beca finally opened her eyes when she felt the loss of her lover's lips, but Chloe hadn't gone far at all. Her redheaded mate had instead put her forehead against Beca's and stayed there for moments as they passed, "I'm a scared, too," She whispered, "but to be with you Beca Mitchell I will do it all as fast as you need to. I love you, Beca Mitchell." She said, breathlessly.

"I love you too," Beca mumbled back and Chloe could feel Beca's breath hot against Chloe's lips. Beca backed away from her girlfriend and winced as the pain her stomach shot through her entire body.

"Let's get you home," Chloe said as held onto Beca's forearms in an attempt to keep her up, "You should take it a few hours at a time and you should get rest before tonight."

Beca looked up at Chloe and opened her mouth to speak against it, "I-"

But Chloe gave her a look that made it so her words weren't really words, they were a command. Beca swallowed at the change of pace. Beca hadn't been on the other side of command since she was young in her mother's pack. It didn't bother her so much as it made her nervous and a bit weak in the knees. They would soon have a conversation about how they would lead and how they would have to discuss what that meant between them. There was still so much to talk about it, but Chloe was right. The young Alpha took the order from her lover and let Chloe help her walk back to the others to explain that they would be leaving early. Beca hoped the rest of the pack would continue on with getting their items and perhaps, if Beca leaned on them, they would get the items that she needed for the ceremony tonight.

"Thank you," Beca mumbled probably too low for Chloe to hear it, but the redhead did, in fact, hear it.

"It's what I'm here for."


	13. Chapter 13-Don't let me cave in

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The forest smelled of sage and a wood fire. The sun was dipping into the horizon, leaving just the edges a deep orange while the rest filled in a navy blue. Stars appeared one by one with every minute that went by. The shade that came from the trees expanded over the forest floor and engulfed it into the night. Smoke blew through the branches and swirled between the trees. The leaves and branches rustled, while insects came to life. Crickets could be heard from all over and lightning bugs were seen everywhere one looked. The pack had just settled around the campfire for a classic style barbecue before the real night began. They had hot dogs and marshmallows, buns and s'mores alike. It had been a productive day to move Chloe and Aubrey into the apartment and everyone was happy to get a break. It was a rather friendly atmosphere for the heaviness of the conversation, that was for sure.

"It's forever," Beca explained, referring to the wolf bite that would be turning both Chloe and Aubrey. Benji held up his wrist to show the group how it looked. On the inner side of his wrist was the indentation of Beca's upper canines with deeper scars where her fangs got sharper and on the outside, were her lower teeth mirroring indentations of the top, but opposite. Chloe and Aubrey eyed it as Benji put it near the fire and twisted it around, "I'd like to start on the wrist. A mating mark would be too much, too soon." Beca hoped her voice didn't shake as she spoke, "Eventually, a mating mark goes on each of the mate's necks.." Beca gulped as both of the humans in the group wrapped one hand around their necks. A thick cool silence filled the air before Beca switched gears, "Your first night, you don't usually remember much."

"From what I hear it's just one wicked hangover the next morning," Jesse chimed in and the girls chuckled. Beca silently thanked him for always lightening the mood.

"You're more likely to wake up in the morning without much memory of what happened after the bite," Beca confirmed and everyone averted their attention from Jesse across from her and back to the Alpha, "We'll probably go for a run and settle in early to help ease the pain. Hopefully, you won't be too sore."

"Only sore from breaking all the bones in your body," Stacie half-joked.

Chloe and Aubrey exchanged looks and Beca cleared her throat, "The first one is always the worst. After that, it'll get easier." Beca tried to reassure them, but it wasn't going very well, "Do you guys have any questions?"

Chloe looked into the fire and Beca saw the way the fire reflected in her eyes. Beca wondered if that mirrored image was what her eyes would look like in her wolf form. Beca's own wolf was going insane just thinking about it, which made her nervous. This was going to be the most important time for her to be in control and she already felt like she was losing it. Across the fire, Beca could feel Stacie's wolf going crazy. Beca wondered if they would be able to handle themselves. Even turning, Chloe and Aubrey wouldn't feel the pull of being around their mate. Only Stacie and Beca could feel the absolute anguish of being around their mate and having no ability to get relief. Of having no ability to _claim _the new wolves. It would be constant and a whole other level from what they'd experienced so far. It was already hard enough when Chloe was close enough for Beca to smell her perfume. She couldn't imagine what scent would come with Chloe's transformation. In every book of lore, Beca read, it told her that mates were drawn to one another's scents. Which only made Beca assume that Chloe's scent would be even more irresistible than it was before.

Beca and Stacie had a conversation about control before they left. She mentioned it to Emily and Jesse both to ensure that if either of them lost control, Emily and Jesse would take care of it. She decided not to bring it up to Chloe and Aubrey. They had enough to worry about with taking the bite. Beca didn't want to add to the stress and it was hard to talk about wolf instincts with someone who didn't feel them. It was hard to explain how impossible it felt to keep herself in check. The instincts her wolf gave her were unreal and she was unable to ignore them.

"How does it feel?" Aubrey asked to fill the silence. The group of wolves looked around at each other, waiting for someone to pipe up before Aubrey added, "To be like you all, I mean?"

Beca wanted to speak, but she was an Alpha so she was always leading the discussion. She didn't want to take away the other voices of the pack to keep going, so she kept her mouth shut. At first, no one else spoke up. They stayed quiet in contemplative thought, until Emily made the bold move, "It's different," Emily looked around the campfire at each of her pack mates and she smiled, "But it's a good different. It feels like you can feel everything with clarity. It feels like you can hear, see, and smell everything more clearly. It feels like you have this close-knit family," Emily cleared her throat and smiled with all of her teeth. Her pack smiled back at her with pride in their eyes, "And even if they're overprotective and hard on you," She laughed and the group joined in with her, "They still have your back, always."

Having no better way to word it, everyone smiled appreciatively at the youngest Beta in the pack. Chloe stood up then in the silence and cleared her throat, "Okay, I'm ready." She looked through the group and at Beca more specifically, "If I wait any longer the anticipation might kill me."

Beca raised and lowered her eyebrows then nodded, "Okay." She stood and her Betas followed suit as if she had given an order, "Jesse could you put out the fire?" She asked and Jesse complied. Aubrey finally stood up from her log and took a deep breath in.

The fire went out with a splash sound and as quick as lightning. The dark and cold filled site, leaving only the whites of their eyes noticeable. Beca gulped as her Beta's formed into the shape they had discussed earlier. Emily lit the second stick of stage and walked it around the area, while Stacie put together a shot of weird herbs to help prevent soreness the next morning. It didn't go down easy, but it would be helpful in the long run. She gave one to Aubrey and one to Chloe before they got started, then informed them that there would be one on their bedside tables for them to have in the morning to soften the blow.

"Okay," Beca said once everyone was back from their tasks, "Let's do this." She smiled. The pack gathered in a small circle around Aubrey and Chloe, with Beca and Stacie immediately in front of their mates, "Are you guys ready?" Beca asked and both girls confirmed with a nod. Beca gave Stacie confirmation to continue. Beca and Stacie each took one wrist from their mate and took a deep breath. Beca looked Chloe in the eyes to see her confirmation and she smiled at her lover. Chloe smiled back and swallowed. Beca could sense her nerves setting in and she wished she could calm them. But it would all be over soon. At once, Stacie and Beca took Aubrey and Chloe's wrists and bit down, _hard. _Hard enough, in fact, to cause Aubrey to groan at the pain and Beca could see Chloe wince. It was a hard bite and it needed to be. It needed to be hard enough to break the skin and draw blood. Drawing blood was the only way to guarantee a shift. It was when Chloe stopped pulling away from her that Beca knew it was safe to let go. The bite was bleeding and Beca had the taste of her lover's blood in her mouth. It was the iron that made Beca's eyes switch red. It was her wolf begging, _demanding _to _claim. _As Beca let go, she watched the shift begin with the rest of her pack as they stepped away from Aubrey and Chloe.

It was the first metamorphosis that did the most damage. Their bones broke, some for the first time in their lives, and all at once. Any of those who watched could hear the crack of each and every one of them. Chloe's eyes twisted from blue to a dark auburn red and Aubrey's to a color as yellow as the sun itself. Fur grew in where there once was skin and what was left of their bones transposed into new shapes to accommodate the wolf form. They slid against one another and scraped each other down. Fur grew across each of their bodies. With the change, their clothes ripped off and both girls were thankful they had chosen outfits they didn't like specifically for this moment. The palms of their hands and mats of their feet turned into paws and their nails grew into claws. It all happened in less than a minute and standing in the center of the pack at the end were two wolves, Aubrey with long blonde fur and Chloe with ginger red fur to match her hair color.

That was the last thing Beca would remember from the night. In fact, that was the last thing Beca, Stacie, Aubrey and Chloe would remember. The next thing Beca knew, she was waking up in the master bedroom of their apartment laying on the bed next to Chloe who was passed out beside her - each in only large T-shirts to cover their bodies. She was puzzled at first, then panicked. She couldn't remember anything past Chloe and Aubrey's transformations. Beca tried to sit up as fast as she could, but she was stopped mid-move by chains that bond her arms above her head. Beca swallow as she looked up at the pair of handcuffs that with all of her wolf strength she couldn't move.

"They're titanium, remember?" Jesse was sitting in a chair in the corner and he stood up when he saw she was awake, "You got them in case of emergencies…"

"Jesse, what happened?" Her voice was hoarse and she didn't know why. Jesse looked over at Chloe asleep beside her and Beca's eyes followed his gaze. This time, Beca analyzed Chloe. She was a wolf, there was no doubt about it, and her scent could drive Beca's wolf up a wall - a mixture of honeysuckles and vanilla. But there was something more. Beca could feel it. Then she saw it. On Chloe's right shoulder she had the brand of the pack, a new wound which needed to heal, "How did-"

Jesse crossed his arms and took a few steps closer to the bed, "After they turned, both you and Stacie lost control. Emily, Benji, and I had no chance of stopping it. If we all tried, we could keep Stacie and Aubrey away from each other, but the two of your Alpha's. We didn't stand a chance." He swallowed, "We bound Stacie and Aubrey before they could do anything. We tried to stop you. We begged you not to. You just weren't there." Jesse told her, "After you gave her the brand, Chloe changed back and we finally were able to stop you. We had to cuff you to stop you. Since then we've been taking shifts to watch you two, as well as Stacie and Aubrey. You're the first one up." When Beca sat in silence, Jesse continued, "I'm so sorry, Beca. You trusted us to take care of it and-"

"No." Beca sighed, "This one's on me." Beca looked over the brand as Jesse came over and unlocked the cuffs to release Beca. Beca rubbed her wrists. They were bruised and cut from trying to get out of the binds. At first, she just laid there, then she added, "I'm sorry. This is all my fault."

"Beca, it was your mate shifting - it could've happened to any of-" Jesse was quick to defend his Alpha.

"But I'm your Alpha," Beca sounded defeated, "I should be in control."

"Beca-" Jesse opened his mouth to speak, but no more words came out of his mouth. At the same time, Chloe started to wake, her eyes fluttering open. Jesse looked over at her, but as soon as he did, Chloe flipped her body over and straddled Beca. Her eyes were still a deep, strawberry red. Her hands gripped the sheets on each side of Beca's head. Her eyes were staring through Jesse and she was _growling. _

"Jesse," Beca said slowly. Chloe looked at Beca and than back at Jesse, then continued to growl, "Could you give us a second?" Jesse only nodded and slowly back out of the room. Chloe eyed him until the door shut and continued to stare at the door afterward. Beca cleared her throat, "Chloe," She breathed, but it got no response from Chloe, "Baby," Beca tried and Chloe was still lost to her. Beca could tell that Chloe had no control over what she was doing, this was Chloe's _wolf._

"_Alpha," _Beca breathed and _that _got Chloe's attention. Chloe looked down at Beca and into Beca's eyes. At the eye contact, Beca had never felt so _submissive. _She supposed that she should've guessed as much. Even Beca's mother didn't even have that much authority over her. Beca never had an Alpha and this was closest she would ever have to it. Chloe and Beca were equals, but they were both Alpha's who would demand control. All at once they were equals and each other's Alphas. Beca could only imagine how the mating mark might amplify that. Beca looked down in an attempt to show Chloe's authority. Once Beca was looking away, Chloe got close to Beca and smelled Beca's neck. This was another part of Chloe's wolf instincts. Chloe was all at once confirming that her mate was _unharmed_ and _untouched _by anyone but _Chloe_. Before Beca could compose herself, Chloe began kissing Beca's neck and every part of Beca told her to _give in. _At first, she did. She let Chloe kiss her neck and _suck _and leave purple bruises down it. It was only when Beca could feel Chloe's teeth grazing against her neck that she took control back, "Chloe. Chloe! CHLOE!"

Chloe pulled away and the color in her eyes slowly melted away to reveal her human blue color, "Becs?" Chloe asked and Beca could feel Chloe's limbs shaking in an attempt to keep her up. Beca quickly grabbed a hold of Chloe's waist and let her down gently on the other side of the bed. Chloe winced and tensed her muscles against the morning pain, "It hurts." She mumbled.

"I know, baby. It'll get better, I promise." Beca reached over to Chloe's nightstand and got the other shot of herbs Stacie had set out for them. She handed it to Chloe and Chloe took it with a sour look on her face. It wasn't good, but it would do the trick.

"Did we…?" Chloe looked Beca and herself up and down. They were each only wearing a large T-shirt which covered only what it needed to.

Beca giggled and bit her lip. With no memory of the night before, it did look like they had sex. Beca had hickies up and down her neck to top it all of, "No, we didn't baby."

Chloe sighed out relief, "Thank God... I want to at least be able to remember it the first time." She winked and Beca chuckled.

Beca took a deep breath as she returned to all seriousness, "But I have to tell you the truth." Chloe sensed the tone and her lips fell to a straight line, "I don't remember much of last night."

"What? What do you mean?" Chloe furrowed her brow.

Beca looked her in the eyes, "With you being my mate. After biting you, my wolf took over," Beca tried her best to explain, "I've never been so out of control in my life. My instincts took over and…" Beca reached out and pulled up Chloe's sleeve to better reveal the newly place brand.

Chloe traced over the wound with a very light touch, "This is the pack brand." She stated and Beca nodded.

"Being a wolf, we have to constantly remember to keep our wolf side in check, to follow our instincts without doing anything too rash. My instincts as an Alpha demanded you join the pack. If Jesse, Benji, and Emily had not intervened, I'm not too sure we wouldn't have mating marks." Beca swallowed, "I'm so sorry Chloe. I never meant for this to happen, I can't believe I lost control…"

Chloe put a hand through Beca's hair and smiled at her, "Hey, hey. This was going to happen sooner or later, right?" Chloe ribbed Beca's shoulder, revealing her own brand on the brunettes left shoulder, "It's just a little sooner," She giggled, "It's okay."

"I'm an Alpha, Chlo, it's important for Alpha's to stay in control-"

"Okay, but this was a once in a lifetime event." Chloe argued, "Your mate shifted. That's huge, right? That's not about having control every day." Beca was surprised at the way Chloe was catching onto everything. Beca sighed but nodded. She found herself agreeing despite still feeling guilty about it. She would have a hard time getting used to Chloe having so much authority over her.

"How're you feeling?" Beca asked, leaning up on her elbow to hover of Chloe.

"Really sore," Chloe giggled and added, "It burns." She rubbed her hand around the brand and Beca looked it over.

_Your soulmate might do that to you _Beca thought and couldn't help but smile.

"Soulmate," Chloe repeated the word and Beca looked up.

_Did you hear that? _Beca asked over thought, her brow furrowed at Chloe.

"What? Of course, I heard you." Chloe cocked a brow at her mate.

"You're hearing my thoughts," Beca explained. "I didn't say any of that out loud." Beca never thought Chloe would be able to read her mind so soon after joining them. She was a new wolf and new to the pack. It took Benji almost two weeks to master telepathy. But Chloe was an Alpha. Beca expected that most of the wolf training would come more naturally to Chloe, after all, she was practically destined to lead the pack.

Chloe's eyes brightened up and she stared at Beca _Oh my god, can you read mine? _

Beca only laughed, _Yes Baby. Welcome to the pack. _

Chloe reached out with both of her hands and pulled Beca in by the neck. Despite the lack of strength, Chloe's kiss was bruising and hard and _claiming. _Beca gave in almost immediately when Chloe swept her tongue on the bottom of Beca's lip. Chloe's instincts took over as both girls eyes turned red. Beca opened her mouth and Chloe's tongue explored it in an attempt to _claim _Beca as her own. Beca couldn't help herself anymore. She had spent months denying it and forcing herself to stay in control. For once she wanted to let it go and let herself enjoy it. She wanted to let Chloe _claim _her.

Chloe pulled away just then and their eyes met one another, bright and red, "I love you." Chloe said it breathlessly.

_I love you too._


	14. Chapter 14 - There, There

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Beca was alone in the master bedroom, running her hand up and down her neck. Chloe had left to help get breakfast started, another symptom that came after a wolf's first night - hunger. Beca was getting dressed and looking in the mirror and remembering the way it felt to have Chloe's teeth against her neck. She couldn't deny it if she wanted to. She wanted Chloe's bite. She wanted to be _Chloe's_. Every fiber in her being had begged her to let Chloe bite down, to receive Chloe's mating mark. Having never wanted that in her life, Beca was left in a trance staring at her bare neck. Her wolf was left wanting, begging, not just to claim, but to be _claimed_. To be _owned_. The idea made her stomach churn and flip. Beca swallowed and finished getting dressed. She had more to think about than falling in love with Chloe Beale.

Today she had to start by talking to Stacie and Aubrey and orienting Aubrey into day two of being a wolf. She had to start training for both of the new wolves. She had to make sure the pack was adjusting to two new wolves in their territory as well as Chloe's accidentally joining the pack. Beca could already feel the emotional shift of adding an Alpha to the pack. Chloe would have to learn to control herself so she didn't cause a threat to the others. Being an Alpha she had a lot more abilities to learn and control, which meant training couldn't wait until later.

Turning Chloe also meant that Chloe had full control of the Beca's betas. Beca had a plan to talk to Chloe and work out a plan on how to lead the pack together before she gave Chloe the brand. She wanted to tell Chloe about the Betas aspirations and how she wanted to give them all a chance to live out their dreams after Barden. She wanted to tell Chloe about the house dynamics and how to handle her Betas. But of course, fate had its way of working things out, most of the time against Beca's wishes. Not to mention that they were only a week and a half until Anne promised to visit again. Which meant a week and a half away from Anne freaking out that Beca and Chloe weren't mated. Needless to say, Beca had enough on her mind.

She came out into the kitchen to find Emily and Chloe starting breakfast, while Benji and Jesse slept on the couch. Beca could only assume that the boys had been up all night or took the last two shifts watching over the new wolves. Without saying so much of a word, Beca slipped into the room beside hers and closed the door behind her. Inside the room, Stacie was just waking up and realizing that she was cuffed to the bed, "Hush," Beca told her and pointed to Stacie's mate, sound asleep in their bed. Stacie stayed silent, but stared at Beca, confused. Beca picked up the key from the dresser and looked at Stacie, _We lost control last night._

_What? _Stacie gulped and Beca could see the way she was trying to recount what happened the night before.

_I don't know what it was, but I can't remember anything after biting Chloe. Do you remember anything? _Stacie's only shook her head in response, _Jesse told me they had to chain us up to protect us. _Seeing as Stacie's eyes had once again become their average moss green color, Beca approached Stacie's side of the bed and unlocked her cuffs. Stacie took the time to notice the way Beca's wrists were red and purple with bruising, then noticed the same on her own wrist. She rubbed them as soon as they were free.

_Is everyone alright? _Stacie asked, sitting up in bed.

_Everyone is okay, but in the haze, I gave Chloe the brand. _Beca looked down, _I can't believe I lost control._

Stacie put out a hand to Beca's forearm to reassure her, _Is she okay?_

_It's going to be an adjustment, but I explained everything. _Beca took a deep breath in.

_That's all that matters, then. We'll figure it out. We always do. You were just… Following your instincts. _Stacie gave her a half-hearted smile and then looked over at her mate on the other side of the bed.

_I'll leave the rest to you. Breakfast is in a bit. _Beca gave Stacie the key to Aubrey's cuffs and headed out the door.

It wasn't long after that breakfast was hot and ready to serve while all of the wolves gathered around the dining room table to enjoy it. For the most part, it was like nothing had changed. They were all still friends, all still getting to know one another. But on the other side of the coin, each and every person could feel the shift. They could feel the gentle presence of a new Alpha in the pack as well as the presence of a lone wolf. They could feel new emotions flowing through the connection that changed their dynamics. The breakfast went through without much mention of the night before, rather than fun jokes and advice to the new wolves. Including and especially jokes about the way Aubrey and Chloe were smelling everything before they ate it. The new sense of smell made breakfast an entirely new dining experience for them. On top of all of that, Beca was thankful for how welcoming her Betas were. They were interested in giving advice and helping the new wolves adjust rather than bringing up the bumps that the pack had yet to smooth out.

At the end of breakfast, Beca finally took the reigns of the pack and made an announcement, "I'd like to give the girls time to rest and regain their strength before we go on a run, but I'd also like to take today to do some bonding exercises. Perhaps over some games, drinks, and food?" The pack seemed to be in agreement, especially when it involved alcohol, games, and food.

"Wait, don't we have a higher metabolism?" Chloe asked an eyebrow cocked in confusion, "Can we even get drunk?"

Stacie only laughed in response, "Depends how fast you can drink really." And the rest of the pack joined in with smiles and laughter.

"No, actually Stacie's got the hell of a drink that slows down our metabolisms," Beca explained, "She's got pretty good at mixology when it came down to figuring out how to drink and recover." The pack laughed and Stacie elbowed Beca to shut her up, "Okay, okay. So I'll go get the booze and pick up some games and we'll get started around seven."

"Oh, I wanna come! I can bring some hell with my jiggle juice." Chloe smirked and Beca rolled her eyes.

"Baby," Just the words coming out of her mouth in front of her pack made the pack hoot and carry on. Chloe's face turned red when they started cracking jokes about both of them and Beca wasn't far behind her, "I wanted you to stay home and get some rest."

"Aww, is Beca worried about her mate?" Stacie made a pouty face before Beca rolled her eyes, "How sweet."

"Shut it, Conrad."

"I'll be fine. It's just a trip to the store." Chloe argued and Beca wasn't sure she had the strength to disagree with the other Alpha. Her gut wanted both sides. She wanted Chloe to come, but she also wanted Chloe to rest. To save face and avoid a fight in front of the pack, Beca nodded in agreement.

"Can someone say whipped?" Jesse curled his hands around his mouth to amplify the sound. Chloe bit her lip and winked at Beca, sending Beca's stomach into a whole new level of butterflies.

"I think we all know who's in charge here. I mean look at Beca's neck." Stacie tacked on the joke and Chloe's face looked like she'd been sunburn.

After breakfast, Chloe got ready to leave and the girls set off for the store a few blocks over. They joked and carried on the way they had before anything changed and Chloe got to ask more questions that she hadn't had the chance to before, "I feel like I can feel everyone's eyes on me and hear each individual sound," The redhead smiled with all of her teeth and Beca smiled at her lover's smile, "Why didn't you tell me about all of this?" It wasn't accusatory, it was a real question.

Beca wiggled her nose in thought for a moment, then said, "I guess It's because I've never known anything else. I've never been just human before. I knew that we had more enhanced senses, but I've never experienced the switch myself, if that makes sense."

Chloe nodded, "I feel like I can still feel everyone in the apartment."

Beca smirked, "Being a part of the pack gives us that ability. We can feel how each other feels, have conversations without speaking… it's a real bonding experience. It'll only get stronger the more you bond with them. It's even more enhanced being the Alpha. You have to be able to recognize how your Betas are feeling. I can do it within a ten-mile radius of the pack." Chloe listened intently as Beca went on and linked their fingers together at some point in the middle of the conversation, "I've actually been meaning to talk to you about-"

"Chloe, Hey." Beca's skin crawled at the sound of the voice in front of them. Her blood boiled inside of her body and her wolf nearly screamed for absolute control. She would recognize the sound of his voice anywhere, even though they had only spoken a few words to each other weeks ago. It was the boy from the shower, well groomed with a button down and jeans - it was Tom.

"Tom, hi." Chloe smiled cordially toward him and tightened her grip on Beca's hand. Beca gulped and gave him the slightest head nod to avoid looking at him. Her eyes were already twisted into the unnatural color of her wolf. Her instincts were dictating her every move from the back of her mind, begging Beca to _kill him _or _claim her, _whichever came first.

"Haven't gotten to see you around campus, where you been, Red?" Beca winced at the nickname and Chloe took note of the way her mate was feeling.

"Oh, I've been around. Actually, Beca and I are dating now." Chloe smiled and looked down at their hands tightly linked together.

Tom cleared his throat and smiled with his lips, "That's great to hear. I'm happy for you." Tom looked on ahead to where he was going and then back at Chloe, "It's good to see you, Chloe."

"You too, Tom." She smiled and he passed them by, finally leaving them alone. Beca by now was taking long deep breaths to try to calm her nerves and resist the urge to chase after the boy and kill him on the spot, "Becs? Baby? Are you okay?" When Beca looked up and Chloe saw her eyes, Chloe pulled her into the alleyway nearby and pressed her against the wall, "Baby, are you alright? It's okay." Beca still couldn't speak and Chloe could feel Beca's anger, protectiveness, and _jealousy. _Chloe was starting to panic, but she tried to think of how she could make Beca feel better, "I'm yours, baby." She choked out the words and Beca looked up at her. Chloe looked her in the eyes and confirmed it again, "I'm all yours, baby."

Beca swallowed down her last deep breath and her eyes switched back to their everyday color. As soon as they did, Beca was breathing heavily as if she had just reemerged from being underwater, "I'm sorry. I… I don't know what came over me."

"I think I might have an idea...," Chloe winked at her mate, a coy smile playing at the corners of her lips.

Beca cocked an eyebrow at her lover, "What are you thinking?"

Chloe pulled her out of the ally and they started walking towards the store again, "Does that sort of thing happen a lot?"

Beca looked down at her feet, "Not when we can avoid it, but when wolves feel an emotion really intensely or their instincts demand to be felt, it gets tricky. Sometimes it's hard to keep one side from the other."

Chloe looked at the sky and Beca thought about how Chloe's eyes practically matched the color of it, "You didn't tell me much about the way you feel around a mate." Beca watched Chloe as she continued, "You told me about the brand, but not about the intense emotions. Have you been feeling that since we met?"

Beca thought back to the day at the activities fair and the absolute _rush _seeing Chloe for the first time was, "Since day one." The brunette replied, "I would've told you more before I gave you the brand if I had not lost control last night," she bowed her head in shame.

"So you felt it in the Activities fair?" Chloe asked and Beca nodded to confirm, "And in the showers?" Beca coughed and Chloe could see the smallest switch in her eyes from blue to red and back to blue.

"Yeah. In the showers too." Beca's voice was hoarse at remembering being in the shower together so many weeks ago.

Chloe scratched the bottom of her chin, "I'm surprised you didn't kill Tom back then." Beca watched Chloe's eyes as she went on, "I mean, I don't know what I would do if I saw you naked with someone else." She looked at Beca, "Especially with all of these feelings all I want to do is make you _mine._ I just can't believe you spent a month dealing with this all by yourself."

Beca bit her lip at the statement, "It was hard, to say the least. Your instincts will tell you to… _claim _me, in part to take care of the pack and in part because wolves are… _possessive _with their mates."

"Well, isn't it?" Beca furrowed her brow at Chloe's question so Chloe went on, "Isn't mating what's best for _our _pack?" Chloe bit her lips, "At least, it's all I've been able to think about since this morning… since I woke up to you and Jesse talking."

"You remember that?" Beca asked and Chloe nodded. Beca shouldn't have been surprised at mating being on Chloe's mind. It was almost always on Beca's mind since the day she met Chloe Beale. It was apart of their nature and embedded in their instincts. Among the millions of questions Chloe had about being a wolf, mating just happened to be the frontline with Beca never leaving her side. In fact, now that Beca was thinking about it, she had hardly left Chloe's side since her transformation and didn't want to leave Chloe's side at all. The brunette couldn't help but chock it up to her wolf guarding what was rightfully _hers _to keep the competition away. Beca's throat went dry just trying to explain mating, "I mean...Yes, it's important, but I'd like to get you trained first before adding the mating mark to the mix," Beca tried to stay in control in a conversation that made her wolf hyper aware of every touch between her and Chloe, "It'll just add more feelings and abilities for you to learn and it would be overwhelming."

"What kind of abilities would it add?" Chloe tilted her head as they walked.

"Well…" Beca had to take a moment to get herself thinking clearly again, "A mating mark will get us more in tune with how the other is thinking, We'd have our own telepathic conversation that no one else could hear, we'd be able to feel each other's feelings and help the other heal, we'd be able to feel each other no matter where we were in the world, um…" she struggled to think of more, "Our scents would blend, In our community, it represents a united front. There's more, but it would be a lot to add onto everything else you have to learn."

"Is that why your mom wants us to before she comes back in like two weeks?" Chloe asked and Beca shot her a confused look, "Jesse and Stacie like to talk now that they can." She shrugged.

Beca sighed, "Yes, she and all of the elders look down on Alpha's for pushing off their mating. Next time I'll record one of the lectures so you can hear it yourself."

Chloe only laughed and pecked Beca on the lips. She could see the way the topic made Beca cringe. It didn't help that she could hear Beca's thoughts going over everything she had to do in her head every few minutes. The redhead wasn't quite clear on how to turn off that ability yet, "That would all be new to you too, wouldn't it?" Chloe asked. By now, they turned the block of the a coffee shop and Beca couldn't help herself but go in. Chloe followed, unquestionably. If Chloe had learned anything about her girlfriend, she liked caffeine.

Beca could see the anxiety playing beneath Chloe's eyes. In reality, Chloe knew that Beca hadn't mated with anyone. Her neck was clean of marks and Chloe had seen her naked. Beca could almost guess that Chloe was asking if she'd ever had another person she found so important. Beca stopped in the line of the coffee shop and lowered her voice, "Of course it would be new to me, Chlo." She swallowed and grabbed both of Chloe's hands, "Actually… I've never really _been_ with anyone."

Chloe's eyes widened, "You mean you've never had sex?" Chloe had to lower voice halfway through the sentence to keep others from hearing. Chloe was surprised, but Beca could see through the surprise and see how absolutely overjoyed Chloe was. Beca couldn't tell whether it was Chloe's wolf or Chloe herself. But Chloe was overjoyed that when the moment came, Chloe would be happy that Beca would only ever be with Chloe. It gave the brunette a small smile just thinking about it.

"Well, I'm not exactly a people person and there was no real point knowing they weren't my mate."

"I mean, I guess you wouldn't if you knew someone that you _belonged with _was out there." Chloe rationalized, "I'm sorry I have." Her eyebrows wilted.

Sure the thought that Chloe had been with _anyone _else in the world bothered Beca, but it wasn't fair to blame the girl. Besides, Chloe was her mate. _Her's, _"How could you've known?" Beca asked, "It's okay."

An awkward silence filled the air as Beca took a step forward as the line dwindled. She thought about changing the subject, but she didn't know how. Just before they made it to the front of the line though, Chloe took a step forward and put her lips to Beca's ear. Beca could feel Chloe's hot breath and it made her shiver, "I'd be lucky to be your first and I want to be your last." Beca's muscles tensed and her wolf howled inside, "I want you to be mine."

_If you don't stop now we're going to have a hard time running these errands. _Beca intruded into Chloe's thoughts as she stepped forward to order their coffee.

_I'm sorry baby, I just can't help myself. This is all so new. _Chloe's thoughts were both innocent and corrupt at the same time.

_This is going to be a long few weeks of training. _Beca thought, grabbing their coffees from the other end of the counter and handing one to Chloe with a smirk.

_We'll see how long we can hold out. _


	15. Chapter 15 - Pyramids of Salt

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"It's really not anything special," Emily mused, her eyes floating across a notebook page with her doodles written all over it.

Her and Benji were in their room and Emily was showing him a new verse she had come up with to a song she had been working on in her spare time. They were sitting in a mess of their room with banners, posters, and pictures of practically anything and everything. They couldn't decide whether they wanted to put Star Wars on the wall behind the bed or in front of it and they weren't really sure where to put the Friends poster either. If they were being honest, they really wanted to paint the walls, but the apartment didn't allow that which wasn't helping matters. Though Emily wasn't too worried about it, nearly every room in the house looked like theirs with their new roommates moving in. Chloe had taken a keen eye for decorating the place and Emily was overly eager to help. Chloe made the place feel less like a place to squat and more like it was their home. Emily was also eager to get to know her new Alpha, to know how the redhead chose to lead and the subtle changes in her voice. Emily wanted to know when Chloe was serious and when she was kidding around, when it was time for fun and when it wasn't.

"Are you kidding? I love this." Benji looked over the notebook with wide eyes and a kind smile. In the few weeks Emily had known the boy, that was what she loved most about him. He was kinder than anyone she'd ever met. She was glad that, in their relationship, she never had to lie to him about who she was. They were honest with one another and promised they would be for as long as they were together.

"You're just being nice," Emily posed, her eyes moving across Benji's sketches, their posters, and all else that lay across the room. If she was being honest, she thought he was a better artist than she was, but she was still learning.

"I'm not! I love this. You should show it to the Bellas," Benji told her, his eyes searching for her attention. Emily looked up at him and bit her lip. Sitting on the bed, surrounded by their art and decorations, their faces were inches from one another. Emily could feel Benji's breath against her own lips and she couldn't help but giggle. He brushed a thumb against her cheek and softly pressed their lips together. A short, small kiss, but filled with still filled with the intense feelings they shared. The two were trying their absolute hardest to take everything slow, despite all of the burning sensations that their brands added to the relationship. It was the hardest thing Emily had ever done, but she wanted to do right by Benji. She wanted them to take their time together before they mated. They had all of the time in the world to be mates and mating was most nearly a marriage for wolves. Besides, Beca had told her to take it slow and Emily took Beca's advice seriously.

It had been a few days since the new wolves in the pack had moved into the house. In that time, the pack resumed their daily lives at Barden and otherwise. They went to classes, went to work, and Beca made sure everyone was home to have dinner together as a bonding experience. Chloe got Stacie a job at Barden's medical clinic to get her started on the patient contact hours their major demanded. And in all of their spare time, the pack practiced with the acapella groups they had joined at the beginning of the year. A week went by and Halloween was right around the corner. In that time period, the apartment became a more lively place. Chloe decorated the walls with orange and purple lights, pumpkins, haystacks, and the sort. She took Beca to a pumpkin patch to pick the right ones. She helped redecorate the master bedroom with more lively colors and pictures, which made their room more like _theirs. _It wasn't quite like Emily and Benji's. Instead, there's was more of an adult version with pictures and sorts. Aubrey had also taken the liberty of helping Stacie redecorate. In reality, the apartment was just a construction site of boxes, decorations, and the sort. It was getting a bit cluttered. With their time off on Saturday, they should've been cleaning up, but no one really saw that happening.

A few rooms away, Stacie and Aubrey were just waking up, being as it was one of the few days in the week that neither had early morning classes. Aubrey awoke to a strong arm placed around her waist, holding her close to Stacie's front. The Blonde bit her lip and made an attempt to move, but the arm only tightened its grip around her and pulled her in closer, "_Baby." _Aubrey whispered, her head tilted back toward the brunette behind her.

Stacie only smiled and burrowed her head further into Aubrey's neck, taking in the comfort of Aubrey's scent, "No." She stated firmly, curling her body around Aubrey's.

"Baby, we have to," Aubrey whispered back, pushing on Stacie's arm as she turned around to face her girlfriend.

"Noooo," Stacie grumbled, "I'm not ready to get up."

Aubrey wrapped her arms around her girlfriend's neck, which finally got Stacie to open her eyes and take in the morning light coming in from the window, "Hey Baby,"

"Good Morning," Stacie closed the distance by surging her face forward and capturing Aubrey's lips into a long, deep kiss.

"Good Morning to you," Aubrey bit her lip when she finally made the executive decision to pull away.

Stacie eyed her mate more closely now as her eyes adjusted to the light, "What?"

"Nothing," Aubrey looked around the room more anxiously now as she realized that Stacie could tell she had something on her mind.

Stacie narrowed her eyes, "What is it?" Aubrey appreciated the respect Stacie gave her by not reading her mind on moments Aubrey didn't intend for her to do so. It was the whole pack's agreement, in fact. It was considered disrespectful to intrude on one another's thoughts unless they made it clear they wanted it. It was one of the many things Aubrey was learning about her new life as a wolf and more particularly about her Mate's pack.

"Do you think Beca will give me the brand soon?" Aubrey slipped a hand under Stacie's shirt and found the Brand on Stacie's shoulder blade of which she could feel it's raised edges. The words came out in a mumbled fashion, so low that it was basically like she hadn't said a thing. Still, Stacie's eyes dropped, "Nevermind, that was a stupid question."

"No, no, no, it's not." Stacie replied, rubbing the back of Aubrey's pajama shirt to reassure her, "It's just… That's the Alpha's decision." She sighed, "and with Chloe joining us, that means it's _their _decision together. They just haven't figured all that out yet." Stacie could see the way Aubrey wilted at her words, "I'm sure it'll happen soon, baby. She wants you to get used to everything before adding the brand. Maybe after your first run."

Aubrey laid her head on Stacie's chest, "I just want to feel the way you feel."

Stacie kissed the top of Aubrey's head, "We'll get there, baby."

Concurrently, in the living room, Beca and Chloe sprawled across the couch drinking their morning cups of coffee and talking about anything and everything under the sun. Being as their weeks were booked and overbooked, Beca took up the opportunity of taking the weekends off and told the radio station she could work Monday through Friday, while Jesse told them he could work Saturday's as well. Which gave the couple a nice opportunity to laid on the couch with their feet propped up on the ottoman and coffees in hand. The redhead had been feeling extra sore and class, work, and the Bellas weren't helping matters. Beca had to force her to relax and lay on the couch instead of finish decorating and though Chloe protested, she eventually gave in to her mates wishes… which only took an added promise that if she rested for the day, Beca could take them out on their first run tomorrow.

Beca hadn't wanted to wait a week to take the girls on their first run, but with Chloe's recovery taking longer (which Beca could only assume was because of the brand) she had chosen to give her more time to heal. On Wednesday Beca took some of Chloe's pain away to help her get her through the rest of the week and explained to Chloe what it was she was doing. With all of the conversations they were having about her knew abilities, Chloe couldn't help how eager she was for their first run. Beca was just as eager, but she forced herself to wait. Besides, the brunette had plenty of other things to worry about, like the text her mother had sent her in the middle of the night.

**Anne: Booked a flight for Hallow's Eve! Can't wait to meet my daughter by wolf law!**

Beca rolled her eyes as she threw her phone to the other side of the couch. Her mother was pushing it and she knew it. Beca had a lot to teach Chloe and she wasn't forcing it to happen sooner because her mother was coming up to visit in a little over a week. She couldn't speed up Chloe's recovery or their relationship. Not for her mom, not for anyone. In the meantime, while Chloe recovered, they talked briefly about how they would like to lead together. They talked about how they wanted to represent a united front to the pack as well as to other packs and decided they would keep an open dialogue about everything. That was enough for Beca and if it ended up being a fight with her mother, so be it.

What seemed like a quiet morning quickly ended with a loud crash coming from the outside hallway of the apartment, followed by a huge _thump_ on the front door. Chloe sat up with a small wince to get off Beca's chest. As she got up, she furrowed her brow at Beca. Beca looked at the door and swallowed. By now the rest of the pack emerged from their corners of the apartment as all of them were able to hear the loud sounds that threatened the front door. Beca and Chloe stood up and the pack watched as Beca approached the door, placing her hand around the knob and pulling it open.

On the outside of the apartment, struggling to carry a wolf on his back, Jesse was covered in blood that Beca could smell wasn't his. On the top of his shoulders was a large, grey wolf whom had passed out. Jesse was struggling to hold the massive wolf up and sweat was pouring down his face. His eyes were wide, apologetic, and piercing yellow. Everyone in the room could feel his anxiety rising and falling with his chest, but Beca couldn't focus on any of that. All she could look at was the bleeding bite mark on the wolf's neck, which subsequently dripped down Jesse's tank top. There was no mistaking it. It was a mating mark, molded by Jesse's teeth. "I'm so sorry, I'm so sorry," was all Jesse could manage to say.

"Come inside and put him in the guest bedroom." Beca's voice was commanding in a way Chloe wasn't sure she'd ever heard before. This was Alpha Beca and the switch her voice made Chloe want to know what that meant to the pack as well as how they reacted to Beca's commands. Chloe and Aubrey watched as the pack was quick to action. Jesse brought the wolf into the guest room and laid him down on the bed. At just one look from Beca, Stacie went to work on the wolf's mating mark to clean it, address it's damage, and wrap it up. Chloe jumped in when she could help, getting supplies out of the bathroom and handing Stacie what she needed. Beca commanded Jesse to get a shower and get into clean clothes. He hesitated to leave the wolf alone at first but after a death glare from his Alpha, he agreed and headed to the bathroom at a quick pace. Overall, Chloe and Aubrey were both struck dead by the way the pack worked in unison under Beca's command. It was a seamless transition and entirely different from how they acted before. This is what it meant to be apart of a pack with an Alpha and their Betas.

A half hour later the pack was sitting in silence as Jesse reentered from the shower with wet hair, clean clothes. No one had said much of a word about the situation besides what they needed to to get it taken care of. Chloe sat beside her mate, her eyes admiring the dust on the carpet. She could feel the anger coursing through Beca's veins and it made her uncomfortable to sit in silence. She wondered if the rest of the pack felt that anger and if Beca wanted them to _feel _how upset she was. After all, from what Chloe knew, Jesse had just brought in a wolf with both a mating mark and a claim that Beca would be responsible for. Chloe wondered if that meant she would also be responsible for the stranger in the guest room. Would he join the pack now? The redhead still felt in the dark about so many things that she felt the need to be included in.

"Becs, Can I talk to you?" Chloe mumbled and their eyes met. Chloe could tell she didn't want to talk, but knew they had to, "In private." Beca stood up, her eyes still on Jesse, and took Chloe's hand. Chloe led them out of the living room into the master bedroom. Chloe walked in first and Beca closed the door behind them. Beca didn't say anything so Chloe started, "He gave someone a mating mark." Chloe attempted to talk through it.

"He _turned _that boy with a mating mark." Beca corrected Chloe with harsh tone to her voice. The word _turned _came out in a slandering way that Chloe could guess came from Beca's strong tenacity to give everyone the freedom and respect their deserved.

"Which means he laid a claim on him," Chloe continued and Beca nodded, "A mating mark lays claim on a mate, but he's your… _our _beta. So that means he also laid _our _claim on him?"

"Yes. Any time a Beta turns a wolf, they lay down their Alpha's claim. Which makes the stranger in our guestroom _our_ responsibility." Beca said it between gritted teeth, "If whatever his name is did something _stupid_, the elders would call on us to represent whatever _stupid_ thing he did." Beca rolled her eyes.

"What do you want to do?" Chloe took a seat on the bed and Beca approached her mate. Chloe could see the gratitude on Beca's face for Chloe asking how Beca wanted to handle the situation. It showed that the redhead knew full well that Beca had much more experience and Chloe respected her choices. Chloe took both of Beca's hands in her own and took a deep breath. Beca wasn't sure if Chloe knew what she was doing or how she was doing it, but by her touch and meditation, she was taking Beca's anger and soothing Beca into a calmer, clearer state of mind.

"I don't know. I think we have to figure out how this happened. Who _he _is." Beca motioned with her eyes toward the guest room.

Chloe nodded, "Okay. I mean, he has to be Jesse's mate, right?"

"Most likely. I can't see Jesse changing a human for no reason." Beca took a deep breath. To Chloe, Her girlfriend looked like she could cry. Her face was rigid and angry, but Chloe could see passed the Alpha's unyielding strength. She had been through a lot as an Alpha and still had a lot of stress in her life. Chloe could see the way the Alpha wanted to break down and Chloe wanted nothing more than to understand so she could lighten the weight on Beca's shoulders.

"Okay. So let's figure out what happened first before freaking out." Chloe reasoned, her eyes piercing through Beca's mind, "Then we'll talk to _him _when he wakes up. Okay?"

Beca closed his eyes and took one more breath, "Okay." She agreed.

When the Alpha couple came back into the room, all eyes were on the two of them. Beca eyed Jesse as they re-entered and after taking a breather, Beca could see the remorse and anxiety written across her Betas face. She could see the way his face was red and she could tell that he had been crying. Beca and Chloe returned to the love seat beside the couch that the rest of the pack sat on. Chloe crossed her legs and kept a hand on Beca's shoulder and Beca put her elbows on her knees, "Who is he?" The words came out as more of a command for him to follow rather than a question to be answered.

"His name is _Luke." _The words came out of Jesse's mouth so fast it was almost incomprehensible as to what he was saying, "He's the manager at the radio station. He's… my m-mate." Jesse ran both hands through his hair and he could've ripped it all out by the way he tightened his grip, "I'm so sorry. I don't know what came over me. I lost control. I can't believe I turned him, I-"

"What's done is done, Jesse." Beca's couldn't hide how displeased she was with the situation at hand, "We have to move forward."

"Did you leave anything weird at the radio station?" Chloe asked and Beca was still startled by Chloe's willingness to jump in, "Did you leave it unlocked? Was there blood on the floor? Any other workers?" Her questions were valid and things Beca hadn't yet thought about checking.

"I-I don't think so. I don't know," Jesse looked at the guest bedroom door and then turned back to the pack, "I didn't lock up. I think his keys are still there."

Emily stood up and grabbed her sweatshirt off the coat rack, "We'll go check it out." And Benji followed shortly behind.

Chloe nodded, "Thank you, Emily."

"Okay, but what are we going to do?" Jesse asked and he raised his voice, "I mean, I turned him. I fucked this up. How the fuck are we going to explain-"

"Jesse." Beca wasn't necessarily yelling, but it was dominant enough for Jesse to shut his mouth, "Emily, Can you see if there's a loop track at the radio station? There has to be something he plays when the stations closed for a few days. That'll help avoid suspicion." Emily only nodded in response and the couple left the apartment. Beca turned her attention back to Jesse. Her facial expression said it all to Jesse. The way her eyebrows dented in and switched between red and blue by just looking at him. They way her lips parted and her jaw dropped. The entire pack could feel her indignation with Jesse, "I… I don't know what to say." She told him as she stood up and went back to her and Chloe's room. She stopped at the doorway and looked back at him, "I just…" She sighed, "I can't believe you did this." And she left.


	16. Chapter 16 - Hoodie Weather

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Beca Mitchell had never lived much of a normal life, even as a wolf. She was not just any other wolf, she was a legacy Alpha for not one but two of the twelve ranking Alphas in the wolf society. Which mostly meant elegant dinners with old people she didn't know and representing her family's on both sides of the family tree. It also meant attending the ceremonies of the moon and dancing with the sons and daughters of other noble houses to keep peace. It had been the entire reason that they lived in Maine in the first place, it was the wolf capital of the world. It was where Her mother attended the Council of the Elders and where Beca had to sit in on every meeting and keep her mouth shut. Her mother advocated for her, for the most part. Her mother had been trying to change the laws for many years now, working to change the policies on turning wolves and what should be forbidden to claim. Through all of Beca's years growing up, she resented the fact that she was raised in such a purebred way. She hated that Alpha's decided the fate of everyone and stupid Alphas on top of that. Every year she got closer to turning eighteen she got more eager to head out on her own. And both were what got her the pack she had: 1. The fact that she was a purebred, legacy Alpha and 2. Because Beca didn't believe in anything the Elders did despite being raised purebred. When Beca, Emily, Jesse, and Stacie left Maine, she swore to never attend another event for the rest of her life and her mother knew Beca felt that way.

Becs: Cancel your flight and I'll come home for the Lunar Eclipse Ceremony.

Beca bit her lip before sending the text to her mother, knowing the weight of her words. This was a deal she was trying to make with her mother. By sending the text, her mother would know that she and Chloe hadn't mated yet, but if she accepted it would give Beca until late November to figure out her pack as a whole and sort out the Luke mess. No matter how much she hated the idea of going home, her mother coming to find her pack the way it was currently was much worse. If Anne ever saw such a mess, she'd never leave Beca alone again. And Beca wasn't dealing with that so she pressed send.

Mom: Fine.

Beca sighed out of relief and laid her back on the forest floor. The sun was just starting to rise now, covering the forest floor in designs made out of the shade from trees and Beca was already seven miles away from Atlanta. She had been up almost the entire night thinking about how to handle Jesse and Luke. Once four in the morning came and passed, Beca decided there was no point in trying to sleep any longer. She got up and left a note for the pack to meet her out in the woods by seven and set alarms for six on everyone's phones. It was honestly pretty lenient for Beca. She usually had the pack out for a run by five at the latest, but she wanted to give Chloe a bit more time to rest.

Mom: But you bring your whole pack, Chloe included, and you represent the house.

Beca's eyebrows twisted and her nostrils flared as she stared at her phone. She should've known there would be conditions. Her mother had caught onto the I part of Beca's text and decided to clarify that she wanted the entire pack including Chloe. Beca had hoped she wouldn't have noticed and she could take a weekend trip up to Maine on her own, but now she'd have to deal with bringing Chloe and the rest of the pack up with her. It would be a trip for Beca to hate, but anything was better than having her mother learn about Luke and see Aubrey without the brand and Chloe without a mating mark.

Beca: Deal.

Mom: Can't wait.

Beca could practically feel her mother's smirk through the text and Beca had to sit her phone down so she could think about something else. Anything else. Which meant thinking about Jesse and Luke, again. In the wolf society, Betas were punished for turning wolves without permission from their Alpha. Even in her mother's pack Betas were given a wolf bite on their back to represent their disrespect. Beca didn't exactly agree with any of it, but she wanted Jesse to understand why what he did was wrong. She wanted Jesse to get the fact that he took away Luke's freedom to decide what he wanted himself. She wanted Jesse to understand that he undermined everything Beca believed in and what their entire pack was based on. She had to show him that without giving into how other packs were run, that he could never lose that kind of control ever again.

"Good Morning." Beca nearly jumped out of her skin at the sound of Stacie's voice shouting over the waterfall Beca had been laying next to. She had been so lost in thought that she hadn't even paid attention to her surroundings enough. The pack congregated a light chuckle at her reaction, but there was still a dull knife of tension digging into their skins from the day before. Everyone was waiting for Beca to give some kind of a reaction now that the smoke had settled. The Alpha hadn't talked much to anyone since she gave Jesse the cold shoulder and they were all waiting for her to blow up. Or say something at very least.

"Morning," Beca muttered as she stood and brushed the grass off herself. Her pack stood there in front of her, all eyes just staring and not much to say. Beca cleared her throat, "Alright. Let's get this started, shall we?" Chloe smiled with all of her teeth at the notion. Today was her first run and she couldn't wait to get started. She wished she knew how to turn herself because she would've done it the day after she turned. Beca took a step forward and motioned for Chloe and Aubrey to do the same.

"So, what do we do?" Aubrey asked, her eyes wide and ready to learn.

"Take a deep breath," Beca did the action as she said it and the two girls followed, "Everyone's transformation is different, but it's mind over matter. You have to be able to will yourself to do it, knowing it will hurt. It usually happens with something you feel strongly about. It could be anything that wills a strong emotion." Beca thought about giving an example, but she couldn't remember what she thought about before she met Chloe. Ever since, her transformations had been willed by thinking about the redhead or someone else with her. All of her strong emotions were wrapped around her mate in a tight little bow. And she didn't want to get into the wolf politics that willed her transformations when she was young.

"It can be anything?" Aubrey looked unsettled by the information. The blonde, as Beca had discovered from practices, was more interested in a straight and narrow path. She wasn't very comfortable with something so liberal.

"Mmhm," Beca nodded, "Try thinking about the Bellas. Think about how badly you want to win the ICCA's. Or the day the two of you met." Beca tried to reason with Aubrey.

Chloe closed her eyes and tried to decide on a memory that would fuel her. She thought about the Bellas, about the ICCA's, she thought about her family back at home, and the first time she met Aubrey back in their freshman year. Then the memory of her and Beca's first kiss hit her like a ton of bricks - immediate and unwavering. Her heart skipped a beat at the very thought of Beca in her blazer, gripping her waist and pulling her in. The softness of her lips and willingness to let Chloe take the lead. The way she wanted to give Chloe a choice in everything they did. The way Beca refused to take away Chloe's freedom. The way Beca was willing to deal with all of the burden herself if it meant Chloe could make a decision for herself. Chloe couldn't say she didn't realize it when the transformation started - it hurt. And having never broken a bone in her body before, Chloe would say that all at once it was inscrutable. But it was over just as fast as it started and when she opened her eyes again, she could consciously see the shift herself. She could see her dark fur that she could only assume matched her hair because all she could see was black and white. She could feel the way her hands turned to paws. Her sense of smell heightened more, if possible. The very next thing she saw was the way Beca looked at her with unbidden pride and love, "There you go, red." She smirked and Chloe tried to smile back her, but it only turned to opening her snout and showing all of her top teeth. Close enough she thought.

Next to Chloe, Aubrey was still standing in her human form, her eyes squeezed shut and most obviously thinking too hard about the whole thing. Aubrey opened her eyes when she gave up and looked at Chloe. Chloe could most easily see the frustration on Aubrey's face. Don't think so hard she tried to tell her best friend.

"I can't not think about it." Aubrey replied in a rather harsh tone.

Beca wiggles her nose at the attitude toward Chloe, but let it pass without saying anything. She thought for a moment than said, "I want to change the Bellas set."

Aubrey whipped her head to Beca and squinted at her, "What?"

"I want to change the Bellas set. I think it's traditional and dull and in a competitive music competition it won't get us anywhere in nationals." Beca folded her arms and watched Aubrey's face contort into pure fury.

"Beca, that set put us all the way through to nationals last year. It is clean, perfect, and if you would just let me lead the Bellas-" Just one fowl statement towards the set turned Aubrey's eyes yellow and Beca made a mental note to work on it later, but for now this is what she wanted.

"The set is the same as last year, exactly. It's a lame set that won't win you anything. Look at the treblemakers! They use new and relevant songs everyone knows. News flash, The Sign doesn't fit that description." Beca sounded like a bratty teenager and Aubrey was so angry that she approached Beca and got in her face.

"Don't you dare-"

"Turn." Beca stated it as a command, "Turn right now." It was instantaneous at Beca's word. Aubrey's entire body at the full brink of rage shifted with ease. The pack could hear her bones shift, crack, and break as they formed into their new positions. The golden blonde fur grew in all over her body. Her canines sharpened and grew into rightful fangs attached to her snout. Her body shifted to match the color of her eyes and before Aubrey could think twice, her hands were matted paws and her body was that of a wolf's. Beca smirked happily at how she's coaxed the wolf out of Aubrey, but it came with a few nervous thoughts. What she had said about the Bellas set wasn't a lie she had made up on the spot. And if just the notion of change caused Aubrey to release that pent up anger, Beca wasn't sure how Aubrey would do as her Beta. As much as Aubrey deserved her own freedom, which Beca would happily oblige, an Alpha Beta relationship was give and take. Beca just wasn't sure Aubrey was ready to give in and accept that of Beca. In any case, even if Aubrey thought she wanted the brand, Beca wasn't so sure the blonde was ready for it. "Alright. Let's get to it." Beca turned her attention to the rest of the pack and signaled for them to turn.

Once they were all in wolf form, Beca looked over her pack with a bit of a smirk before turning. Her pack had nearly doubled in size since she arrived at Barden. Assuming Aubrey joined and possibly Luke thereafter, she'd have doubled her pack in only a few months of travel. It was impressive for a young Alpha and she had to admit they were a dynamic, strong, and diverse group. The wolves ranged in all different colors, Golden, ginger, black, dark brown, light brown, and even a grey wolf back at the cabin, should he chose to join. Even in all the chaos Beca couldn't help how proud she was. Sure she was mad at Jesse, but she couldn't hold it against him for that long. Even she had lost control with her mate. It wasn't easy to keep control. Sure she had to reprimand him for the action, but it didn't make her any less proud to have him as a Beta. Beca shook her head out of the trance and transformed herself to follow suit. Let's go on a run. I want to talk, but we'll take care of that later. It was all she thought to the group before taking off. The pack was quickly on her tail as she ran, feeling the wind in her fur and the morning sounds of the forest. Nothing else in her life had ever left her feeling so free and calm.

Chloe worked her tail off to keep up on Beca's side and the rest of pack followed at their heels. In the first few hours it had become a game to see if anyone could get in front of Alpha's. No one ever did. Despite Chloe being a new wolf, she was small and fast, which helped her maneuver easily between the trees. Towards the end of the run the wolves were tackling one another and playing along the forest floor. They didn't stop until they had made a full ten mile circle, ending back where they left their bags at the waterfall. Everyone was in thorough need of a drink by the time they got back too. Once they got a drink from the waterfall, they transformed back and got dressed into a new change of clothes. Transforming back seemed to be easy for both Aubrey and Chloe, who did it just as quickly as the rest of the pack.

"Alright." Beca said it in an announcing way, which basically stood for listen up. The pack crowded around her, "So, we've got a lot to figure out and it's a bit of a stressful time. I just want you all to know that even if I'm not as attentive as I normally am, I'm thinking about everything we have going on in the pack and I'm going to handle it the best I can." She could see the way the group nodded as she spoke and acknowledged her, "I'd like to take today to talk to you all individually just to get caught up." They agreed and Beca turned her attention to Chloe, "Us first?"

Chloe stood up and Beca took her hand as she guided the two away from the crowd and over to a small group of benches around a campfire. Beca sat down and Chloe followed her lead, "I was a bit worried when you weren't in bed this morning." Chloe told her, "You seem calmer though."

Beca half heartedly smiled, "I couldn't sleep and I needed to run yesterday off my mind." She told her mate, "I think I've decided what I want to do."

"Yeah?" Chloe asked.

Beca explained the Chloe what she wanted to do with Jesse and Chloe agreed to her plan, than she told Chloe about her thoughts on everything she could. She explained how she wanted to communicate with Chloe before she made any decisions with the pack because it wasn't just Beca's, but it was their responsibility to take care of the pack. Chloe agreed and told Beca that she was thrilled with the line of communication. They talked about Aubrey and Stacie and Emily and Benji. Beca told Chloe how she felt about each couple and what her plans were in a whole for the near future and the further away. She told Chloe that after Barden she wanted them to travel and see the world. They talked for twenty minutes before Beca sent her back to the group and had her send Jesse in a replacement.

"Hey." Beca mumbled as Jesse approached the bench. Jesse sat down and eyed Beca for some kind of cue of how she was feeling this morning.

"Beca, I'm so sorry." He told her first and foremost. It was a sign of respect to his Alpha.

Beca ignored the statement to move on, "In my mother's pack, She'd give a bite for what you did yesterday." Jesse looked at the ground when she looked at him. It was another sign of respect for her, "We decided that you're going to be in charge of Luke." Beca said, "We want you to understand the position you're putting us in with your actions, so you're in charge of him. You take care of his neck, you take care of him until he's feeling better. You will train him and explain everything you can about being a wolf. You're in charge of making sure he knows everything he needs to know. Anything he does it on you. And once you get around to the mating mark, it's his decision whether or not to stay and you make sure he has all of the freedom in the world. With the pack. With mating. With everything." Her words were not to be questioned. She was in charge and it was clear by her tone, "Understood?"

"Yes, Alpha."

Beca sighed, "It's okay, Jesse." Jesse looked up at the mention of his name and Beca met him with sympathetic eye contact, "We all have lost control and I'm not exempt from that. I lost control too. This was just problematic and it needs to be fixed, okay?" Jesse nodded in understanding and Beca looked up toward the sky, "Chloe offered to speak with him when he first wakes up. Depending on what he remembers, you might not be the first face he wants to see."

"Thanks, Beca." Jesse said, his eyes transfixed on her.

"Can you send Aubrey up?" Beca said and that was Jesse's cue to leave, which he did.

Soon enough, Aubrey Posen was walking the hill and arriving to meet with Beca, "Hey," The blonde said as she sat down.

"Hey there," Beca chuckled lightly and leaned back in the bench and almost lost her balance.

"Am I in… trouble?" Aubrey asked with a bite of her lip.

"No, no. Of course not." Beca pat the seat and Aubrey sat down next to her, "I just. I don't want you to think I'm ignoring the brand… or well, lack there of I guess." She said.

"I didn't really think-"

"I kind of overheard you and Stacie yesterday morning," Beca mumbled and then pointed to her ears, "Wolf ears and all. Sorry."

"Oh… that." Aubrey's shoulders slouched.

"It's alright. I know you're curious. I'm aware that you don't have one. And you will, so long as that's something you still want?" Beca looked her in the eyes now and kept a stead gaze.

"I do." Aubrey nodded, "Why… would think I wasn't?"

Beca sighed and wiggled her nose, "Stacie's my best friend." She mumbled, "Has been since she lost her parents. And I love her to death." Beca crossed her legs, "That means if you ever hurt her…" She swallowed, "I won't have it."

"Understood." Aubrey's voice was hoarse.

"But that also means that I want you to be sure about your decision to join the pack," Beca said, "We haven't always gotten along."

Aubrey nodded, "So that's what this is about." She sighed, "I know we haven't gotten along… But I trust you," Aubrey said it and Beca kept eye contact with her, "You're not illogical, even if I don't agree with everything you say. You make sense. And that's all I need. Besides, you're Chloe's mate. And I trust her with the world. So you can't be that bad."

Beca only chuckled, "Fair enough."

Beca moved on to the rest of the pack and got up to date with Emily and Benji and Stacie and for the first time in the few months of crazy, Beca felt like she was back on track. She had a plan, she had her mate, and she had some time to work it out. Everything would be alright. In due time.


	17. Chapter 17 - Came Out Swinging

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**Big Bechloe chapter coming next ;)**

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Luke woke up to a strange bed, in a room he'd never seen before, with a severe _ache _to his body and especially his neck. The room was blurry when he first opened his eyes, but after rubbing them and clearing the blur away, he realized he had no idea where he was, "What the fuck." He spat under his breath, his British accent coming out with the phrase. He sat up in a rather quick and frantic way, looking around the room for some indication of where he might be. In the corner of the room was a mirror and in its reflection, Luke could see the bite mark on his neck. Squinting to look at it, Luke rubs an hand over it and outlines of the indentation on his neck. Also in the mirror, he could see the way his eyes had changed colors and currently were as yellow as the morning sun.

"How're you feeling?" Luke jumped in the bed when he heard Chloe's voice for the first time from the other corner of the room that he had yet to survey.

Luke furrowed a brow at the redhead, whom he'd never seen before in his life, "Where… What's going on?" Chloe could tell he was trying to remember something before waking up in the apartment, but nothing was coming back to him. He'd been asleep for almost forty-eight hours, after all, he would need time to adjust, "Did I go out drinking? Did we…?" He cleared his throat, "I'm sorry. Is this your place? I can head out. I usually don't stay the night." Luke looked around the bed for clothes to put on rather than just being naked under the sheets. Not a single one of the people who lived in the apartment could say he wasn't hot. Sitting up, Chloe could see his eight pack.

Chloe only laughed and crossed her legs over one another in her blue jeans. She folded her arms over her blouse and smirked, "No, no. Nothing like that. You kind of just got hurt. My name is Chloe and this is my apartment."

Luke looked back to the mirror and studied the bite mark, "Yeah…" He looked back to Chloe, "Do you mind telling me what happened?"

Chloe took a deep breath and swallowed loud enough for Luke to hear it, "You have to promise not to freak out." She bit her lip.

"I'll try?" He laughed awkwardly and Chloe was starting to get a sense of him. Now that she had a good look at him, she was pretty sure he was either a junior or senior at Barden. She'd seen him around campus before, mostly in the music hall on her way to practice with the Bellas. For the most part, he'd been with a group of other music majors on campus hanging out. A few times Chloe had listened to the radio station before and his accent was undeniably the same guy who ran it. He didn't seem like a bad guy, but it made her nervous to think of the other girls and guys she had seen Luke snogging before. If he was Jesse's mate, it would be a huge adjustment period for him.

Chloe stood up and laid took one of the sheets from the bottom of the bed Luke was laying in. She took a deep breath and cracked her neck. This time her mind wandered to how she would feel if she ever saw Beca with someone else. Anger filled her stomach just thinking about Beca being in close quarters to anyone that wasn't her, _kissing _anyone who wasn't her. The thoughts were too strong and too direct, which made Chloe's transformation easy, to say the least. Her eyes switched red and her body contorted into it's other natural form. Her skin stretched and molded to allow space for her bones to shift. The shift in her bones brought her closer to the floor and mutated her hands and feet into paws.

Chloe watched as Luke's eyes went as wide as a deer in headlights. At the sight of Chloe's wolf form, Luke crawled backward on the bed in an attempt to escape her. He only stopped when he banged his head on the headboard of the bed frame and he couldn't back up anymore. He made it so his back was flush to the headboard and Chloe could see him starting to hyperventilate, "What the fuck? What the fuck are you? Some kind of freak?" In between each word he was breathing heavier and freaking out more. Chloe took a step closer, but Luke wasn't having it. He moved closer to the opposite edge of the bed and away from the ginger wolf. Chloe, taking the hint, picked up the sheet and threw it over herself, transforming back into her human form and covering herself. Once she was back to her human self, Luke's breathing was less ragged. "You're, you're-"

"I'm a wolf," Chloe said, the smile never leaving her face.

Luke gulped, "If you let me leave now I won't tell anyone. I swear it. I'll keep my mouth shut."

Chloe sat back down in her chair and wiggled her nose, "I can't really do that. See, the bite on your neck…" Chloe thought for a second on how to phrase it, "You're a wolf too."

"This is a joke. You're joking. There are cameras around here, whatever. I don't know how you did that but this is very funny. Can you cut it out now?" Luke looked around the room for cameras.

"No, no jokes." Chloe explained, "This is real."

Luke wasn't so afraid now. In fact, he wasn't pushing himself against the headboard anymore. Now he was just sitting on the bed and watching Chloe, trying to figure it all out, "If it is real, what does that all mean? Why would you turn me? I don't even remember you. And why can't you let me leave?"

Chloe sighed, "Do you remember Jesse? He was an intern starting out at the Barden radio station?"

Luke thought back and squinted at her, "He was late on his first day." The British boy stated, "He did this?" Luke rubbed the wound on his neck.

"In our world, if you turn someone you're responsible for making sure they know what they are and how to handle themselves. We aren't keeping you here against your will, but if you can stay, we can provide some of those answers for you." Chloe reseasoned, her eyes never breaking contact with Luke's yellow ones, "But that's up to you." Chloe stood up and opened a nightstand drawer, "We found these in the booth at the radio station and I assume they're yours," Chloe pulled out a change of clothes and handed them to Luke, "Let us know what you decide to do."

Without another word, Chloe turned and exited the room. Outside, she was met with Beca standing by, a change of clothes for Chloe in her hand, "Thanks," Chloe mumbled, taking the set from Beca's hands.

"How did it go?" Beca asked and the pack of wolves sitting in the living room all had their eyes on Chloe too.

Chloe only shrugged, "Best it could, I suppose. He's not freaking out anymore so…"

Within the next few hours, Luke gave his decision to stay to learn more about what Chloe had to say, which started Jesse's punishment of taking responsibilty for training Luke in what it meant to be a wolf. Life went on. In some ways, it had become normal for everything they talked about that had to do with wolves became a training experience for the new parts of the pack. It became normal to have training sessions and long talks about the wolf world and what it meant to them. Their bond as a pack got stronger. They relied on each other more day in and day out. It became normal to have conversations over thought within the apartment as well as out in public. Everyone in the pack made more friends and it became normal to have humans over in the house. The pack was getting used to having control over themselves while around their mates and around humans. They worked on meditations to keep one another calm during times over intense emotion. And the crowded apartment became more of a home to them every day, once they finally put together a decently decorated home.

Jesse kept his word and told Luke everything he could possibly need to know about being a wolf. Beca oversaw and made a checklist of each topic Jesse had to be sure to go over and Jesse followed the rules. In a way, the punishment was a blessing in disguise. Jesse and Luke got to know each other better by spending so much time together and Beca could see from the distance the way a bond was starting to form between them. She could only assume that it was in part because Luke already had been claimed by Jesse, so the mating mark helped spark feelings that might not have come along so quickly for Luke otherwise. In all honesty, Beca liked Luke. Once she started her job at the radio station, she got pretty used to being around him and getting to know him. They bonded over their love for music and Luke even listened to some of her mixes, which he then put on the university's radio. He was a pretty relaxed guy and after everything they had been through a pack, Beca could use someone who could just relax. It wasn't too much longer that Beca had Jesse take Luke for his first run as she watched them from afar.

"And you're absolutely sure?" It might have been the twenty-third time that Beca asked Aubrey if she was ready to receive the mark, but the answer to the question was important to her. She refused to let Aubrey do something just because Stacie was apart of the pack and she was Stacie's mate. She wanted to be absolutely positive that this was what Aubrey wanted to do rather than what she felt like was the next step in her business of being a wolf.

"I'm positive." Aubrey smiled at the question this time, her blue eyes as confident as ever and staring at the Alpha without a fret in her. Aubrey had gotten used to hearing the question and every time the answer got stronger. Her decision wasn't just about being Stacie's mate anymore, though she knew that better now than she had a few weeks ago when Beca pulled her aside to talk about it. In hindsight, she was glad the Alpha had waited to be sure of her answer because now Aubrey felt better about it than she ever had in her life. It wasn't just about Stacie. It was about the family she had built while living with the pack. It was about the bonds she wanted to have, even if she and Beca weren't always on the same page. Beca was the best Alpha that Aubrey could've ever asked for. Aubrey wasn't sure there was an Alpha in the world that gave their Betas as much freedom and creativity as Beca did. Besides, Beca was respectful, honest, and transparent. She was willing to do what she had to but understood that everyone makes mistakes and there are better ways to learn from them than with physical punishment.

"Have you picked a spot?" Beca was heating up the iron in the kitchen and once again she was sitting with her entire pack sitting around the dining room table of assorted chairs. Their dining room set hadn't exactly come with eight chairs so they had to improvise to keep up with their growing numbers. Beca had thought a lot about the location of her brand before she got it. She chose her shoulder because she wanted it to be boldly displayed as a symbol of the pride she had for her pack. It just so happened that Chloe's ended up on the opposite shoulder, which Beca quite enjoyed how they matched up together. Jesse and Benji had both picked the back of their right legs to receive the brand and Emily had put her's on her ankle. Stacie's was on the back of her shoulder blade.

Aubrey looked at Stacie and then back at Beca, "Yeah, here." Aubrey took off her shirt to leave only her sports bra to cover her, which seemed to ruffle Stacie's feathers a bit, and pointed to the opposite shoulder blade of where Stacie had put hers. Stacie smirked when she realized what the blonde was doing and Beca smiled at them both.

"Can I?" Chloe was standing next to Beca and holding onto Beca's waist, watching the iron turn red against the heat.

"You really want to?" Beca asked, her head turned toward her mate now.

"Yeah. You've done everyone else's," Chloe pointed out and Beca only shrugged. She handed the iron over and their eyes met, "Make sure it's firm and you have to keep it there for a few a bit. I'll tell you when."

Chloe took the brand and Beca met the rest of the pack at the dining room table. The pack assumed positions around Aubrey, holding her down as best they could. Stacie held Aubrey's hand and Beca held the other one, "Are you ready?" Beca asked and Aubrey met her gaze.

"Yes. I'm ready." Aubrey confirmed and Beca nodded her head to Chloe. Chloe took the iron off the heat and made slow, steady steps toward Aubrey. As she did she set up the iron to the location Aubrey made abundantly clear. Once she arrived, she took one deep breath and held the iron to Aubrey's skin firmly. Aubrey screamed and screeched in a high pitched voice, but Chloe tried not to listen to her best friend's screams. In some way, Chloe was glad that she didn't remember receiving the brand if it hurt this bad.

"Now." Beca's words brought Chloe out of her trance and Chloe pulled the iron away to reveal the freshly marked brand of their pack.

Aubrey took a few deep breaths as the burn became a duller, lingering pain. Beca squeezed her hand, "Looking good my Beta." She joked and Aubrey chuckled lightly.

"Thanks." Aubrey turned her attention to Stacie as Chloe put the iron on the ice they had filled the kitchen sink up with, "What do you think?"

Stacie got up to take a look at the brand and she smirked, "I like it, a lot. Let's go check it out in the mirror, hm?" The rest of the pack released Aubrey from their hold and Stacie helped her up to go to the bathroom.

Beca approached her mate and smiled, "One more down." She whispered.

Chloe looked over at Jesse and Luke who were cuddling on the couch now, "One more to go."


	18. Chapter 18 - Heaven's Gate

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"You _belong _to me_._ No one else." Chloe's lips tasted like the mango vanilla vodka she'd been sipping on as her last drink before they had left the club. It had been almost a month since Luke turned and Chloe and Beca we're out alone for the first time in a while on a date night. Beca had been talking to a boy from one of her music business classes that she'd run into while Chloe was in the bathroom. He had ordered her a drink to be a nice guy and insisted he pay for it with a smile that said he was really just being a kind. Though, Beca could only assume that Chloe had seen the interaction and she wasn't happy about it. The grip she put on Beca's wrist was something Beca couldn't break if she wanted to as Chloe dragged her out of the bar and into the car across the street. Beca didn't say anything to her mate as they walked as she felt Chloe's feeling flow through her - _possessive, protective, jealous. _

In the car, as Beca drove, Chloe kept her left hand on Beca's bare thigh just under the hem of the tight, _extremely short_, black dress Beca had chosen for their date night. Out of the corner of her eye, Beca could see the way Chloe's eyes had liquidated into an auburn type of red that almost matched the color of her hair. Beca tried her best to ignore the burning that spread through her body as Chloe squeezed her thigh tight enough to leave a bruise. Her brand was on fire to the point that it was hurting Beca's shoulder and spreading down her arm. Chloe warned her not to speed, but Beca couldn't get to the apartment fast enough with the feelings flowing through her bloodstream. Her wolf was once again _begging _for Chloe's mating mark as it had been in the few months she'd known Chloe. She wanted to be _Chloe's_. She wanted to be _owned_.

Beca pulled into the parking garage beneath their apartment complex and Chloe got out of the car faster than Beca could. By the time Beca got out of the car, Chloe was standing in front of her door waiting for her. As soon as Beca close her door, Chloe pushed her up against it and at the same time pulled her into an absolutely bruising kiss. Her lips felt like fire against Beca's as Chloe demanded access and Beca couldn't stop herself from _giving in. _Before long, Chloe's tongue was exploring Beca's mouth and they were fighting over _dominance. _Beca could feel her eyes drift back to the strawberry red that pulled out her wolf instincts as she pushed Chloe away and turned the tables. This time Beca pinned Chloe to the car and gripped onto the collar of Chloe's blazer to hold her still while they kissed.

"_Mine."_

It took all of Chloe's strength to push Beca away before things got too heated in the parking garage. This time it was Beca leading Chloe by the hand to the elevator on the other side of the garage. The elevator was luckily still on the bottom floor and once the door closed the girls were back on top of each other fighting to stay in control. Their kisses were messy, _wet_, teeth gnashing kisses that begged for more at every breath of fresh air. They hardly realized it when the elevator beeped and the doors opened. Beca had to push at Chloe's shoulders to get her out of the trance and into the hallway. Lucky for the two of them, the apartment living room was clear of people and dark to match the late hour at hand.

Beca closed the door behind them and Chloe resumed the position she started with, shoving Beca into the door harshly and giving her an onslaught of kisses. Beca couldn't help the moan that slipped out of her lips between kisses. She couldn't help the way that her lips moved against Chloe's and gave Chloe access to her mouth. She couldn't help the way that her wolf was _craving _Chloe in every way. When Chloe pulled herself away to catch a breath, Beca moved her hands to Chloe's ass and pulled her right back in. The redheaded Alpha reacted by moving her knee between Beca's legs and pressing Beca against the wall. Beca let out another moan and Chloe used it to regain access to her mouth. Without missing a beat, Chloe kissed slowly down Beca's jawline to leave purple cursive bruises down her mate's neck.

After working to regain control of herself, Beca pushed Chloe away and onto the master bed nearby. Before Chloe could blink, Beca was on top of her, straddling her thighs. Chloe pulled up on Beca's dress, which gave her access to the lace panties underneath and Beca could hear the growl from the back of Chloe's throat when she felt the lace. Beca smirked through the kiss and Chloe pulled her closer, "_Mine." _Chloe mumbled against Beca's lips and Beca moaned in response. This time it was Beca who ran her lips down Chloe's jaw and neck, leaving her own trail of marks along the way.

"_Alpha_," Chloe was entirely sober and alert when Beca's teeth grazed her neck.

"Is this what you want?" Beca asked, a whisper against Chloe's ear. Chloe couldn't help but smile. Even now, knowing Chloe was with her through and through, Beca was asking for permission to make it official, "Do you want to be _mine?" _The words came out in more of a snarl sound as Beca's wolf gained more control over her.

Chloe's heart was beating out of her chest at the very thought of being _Beca's, _at being _claimed, _at being _owned. _It felt natural. But Chloe knew the heaviness of the question as well. It was basically a marriage mark in the eyes of wolves. Beca was ensuring that Chloe was ready for it, knowing everything she had learned for the few months they'd been together, "I want to be _yours _and for you to be _mine _baby." Chloe confirmed, another whisper between them.

Beca didn't wait for anything more to be said. She opened her mouth and grazed Chloe's skin with her teeth, which by now had been covered with bruises and the red marks. Chloe turned her head farther to her left to give Beca the access she was looking for. The redhead could hear Beca's ragged breathing in her ear. Chloe then felt Beca's canines against her pulse point and both girls closed their eyes as Beca bit down, _hard. _Chloe whimpered at the initial pain as Beca bit even harder to break the skin and Chloe couldn't help her reaction. Chloe turned her head and pull Beca's neck close enough and sunk her own teeth in. Beca moan too and they stayed like that for moments as it passed them by.

Finally, Beca pulled away and Chloe followed her lead, leaving a mating mark on each of their necks - the mold of their canines a fresh wound. Beca swallowed hard at the sight of Chloe with her mating mark, her wolf's need to claim finally sated. Chloe's red eyes were staring at Beca's neck as well with a wide and satisfied grin. Their eyes met with the same intensity as their feelings flooded over them. After a long time, Chloe flipped them over and kissed Beca with a bloodlust like no other, "I love you baby." She was breathless in between their kisses.

I "I love you too," Beca smiled and caused them to bump teeth during the kiss.

_Mine _Chloe thought and kissed down Beca's chest, ripping her dress upward, though at the same time being careful not to irritate the new wound.

The next thing Beca knew she was waking up in the morning with a dull ache through her body and an especially sore wound on her neck. Besides the blankets, her and Chloe were both naked and Chloe was still sleeping peacefully when Beca awoke. Beca's eyes still had a bright red to them as she sat up slowly and made her way to the long mirror tacked on the back of their door. She swallowed as she reached her hand up to touch the sore indentations of teeth marks that were and would always be there from now on. A smile peaked at the corners of her lips as she felt long the grooves and the feelings from the night before flooded back to her as well as new feelings that came with the mark. _Chloe's. _Beca thought about it for the moment and realized that her wolf was no longer chanting for her to claim the girl in her bed or vise versa. Instead it was a calm of a morning with only feelings that told her to protect the redhead and never leave her side. Having never felt what came with the mating mark, Beca wondered what this would mean for them both.

"Good Morning, beautiful." Beca turned to see her girlfriend's kind eyes watching her from the bed, her hair a messy version of what it had been the night before.

"Good Morning," Beca smirked and returned to bed and the warm nest they had created overnight. As she did, Chloe wrapped a firm arm around her and pulled close. Beca looked her over and stared at Chloe's mating mark, "May I?" Beca asked.

"Mhm." Chloe smiled as Beca put two fingers on her neck and felt the indentations of her own bite on Chloe's neck. Beca couldn't help but feel proud of them, "I like the way it looks."

"Me too," Beca mused, her eyes giving her attention back to Chloe.

Chloe looked across the room and noticed Beca's clock on the wall, "Is it ten already?"

Beca nodded, "Yeah, we definitely overslept." She chuckled.

"Do you think we should go out there?" Chloe asked and both of them could hear the sounds of their pack rustling up breakfast from outside of their room.

Beca bit her lip and looked back at Chloe's mating mark, "Do we have to?" She nuzzled her head into Chloe's chest.

"I don't think we'll be able to hide forever." Chloe quirked, "And I definitely don't think we'll be able to hide these."

"That's what I'm afraid of." Beca mumbled into the blanket.

"Come on, we'll go together."

When Chloe got out of bed, Beca didn't have much of a choice. Beca got out of bed and followed her Mate in getting dressed. They threw on some clothes to lounge around in for the morning. Beca grumbled some more complaints about getting out of bed before Chloe grabbed her hand and led her out of the room and into the living room where their pack was just serving breakfast. The door to their room closed with a slam and the entire room looked over at the two girls, with rat nests of hair and mating marks to match. Beca folded her arms and squeezed her eyes shut as she waited for the responses, which came in whistles and chants from across the room as the six other wolfs caught onto their mating, "Shut it." Beca announced as she made her way over to the breakfast bar where Jesse poured her a cup of coffee.

"Congratulations, you two." Jesse smirked as Beca took the coffee and drank it a bit faster than she usually had. It was already triple the amount of caffeine to keep up with their metabolisms and Beca had planned on two cups to get her going after the night she had to say the least.

"Thanks," Chloe smirked whole Beca rolled her eyes. Jesse poured the red headed Alpha a cup and she smiled as a thank you.

Stacie approached next with a smile wider than Beca had ever seen it before. It might as well have been too big for her face, "It's a good look on you, Becs." She joked and she stared down the bite and than looked at Chloe's, "May I… take a look at these?"

"Right… yeah," Beca said, realizing that Stacie wanted to address the wounds and clean them up. Stacie went to the first aid kit and returned to set it on the breakfast bar. She opened it up and started with Chloe's. Beca felt a nervousness at someone else being in such close quarters to her mate and even closer to the mating mark herself. She had to remind herself that it was no threat at all for Stacie to clean them up. It was the right thing to do after all. Stacie made quick work of it, cleaning the wounds, removing any blood, and making sure they would heal properly.

"So how do you feel?" Emily asked as they sat around the living room after breakfast - a nice leisure morning for a Saturday.

Beca and Chloe exchanged a look between them as they sat on the love seat, their fingers linked, "I don't quite know yet," Beca said, "It's hard to explain. I'll let you know when I figure it out." She smirked and laughed as she leaned into Chloe's embrace.

"Complete." Chloe mumbled and everyone looked at her, "I guess, if I had to describe it. So far, it feels… complete." Chloe bit her lip and Beca couldn't help but kiss her.

"Awe, stop you love birds." Stacie coughed, "It's disgusting." Which earned her a jab in the stomach from Aubrey.

_I love you. _Chloe thought, aiming her thoughts toward her girlfriend, _Do you think they can hear me? _

_I'm not sure, but I love you too. _Beca smirked and the couple scanned through the pack to see if anyone else could hear their thoughts. But to their surprise, no one did. There were no comments toward the thoughts. Instead the pack continued to carry on.

_I don't think they can. _Chloe noted, _We'll have to see what else we can do. _She smirked.

Beca leaned further into Chloe's embrace and squeezed her hand tight, _I'm never letting you go._

_I'm all yours. _


	19. Chapter 19 - Sister Cities

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"We're going to the Lunar Eclipse Ceremony." Beca had called a pack meeting in the living room on the Monday before Thanksgiving break to inform them, only a few days after she had told Chloe that her mother invited them down. It had been a week since their mating and less than that since Beca had given Luke the brand, per his request. Beca had waited until her mother sent her the plane tickets for the entire pack before she told everyone else, knowing she'd have a harder time telling her pack than she did Chloe, "We're leaving on Friday and we'll be staying at my mother's for a week."

"We're going to the Lunar Eclipse? All of us?" Jesse asked, "And we're staying at with your mom?" His voice showed his disbelief as he leaned back in his chair.

"You've got to be kidding," Stacie, on the other hand, sat up in her chair, removing the arm she had put around her mate, "Weren't you the one who said we never would again?"

Beca sighed. They were right. Jesse, Stacie, and Emily knew what a trip to Maine would mean. They knew what a Lunar Eclipse Ceremony was like and what would be expected of Beca should she go. It wasn't a fun trip and Beca knew that. It was the reason her deal with her mother worked in the first place, "I made a deal with my mother. I didn't have much of a choice in the matter and don't think I'm happy about it." She explained.

Stacie chuckled with incredulity, "So you're going to have Chloe meet your mother and then take her to the eclipse ceremony? That should be fun."

"I mean I already met her for dinner," Chloe said, while Stacie, Jesse, and Emily all laughed, "What? Why are you laughing?"

Beca sighed, "My mother is pretty ridiculous. She'll probably act like this is the first time you've ever met because before you didn't know anything about wolves." She folded her arm and tilted her head back on the couch.

"Are you sure this is a good idea?" Emily asked, "I just mean… I know how much you hate these events."

Chloe looked at Beca, who only looked defeated. She wanted to ask why going home would be so stressful for her and Chloe wanted to make it better, but if she'd learned anything about Beca it was that she didn't like to talk about her feelings. She was very communicative about what she needed to be, but she needed time to open up about things when she was upset. So instead, Chloe placed a hand on Beca's shoulder to help ease her stress. Beca looked at Emily though, "It's just one week. We'll stick together and everything will turn out just fine."

Just a few days later, everyone was packed and ready to leave for the airport, skipping their last few classes before Thanksgiving break to make it to the airport on time. It was a mess to make it through security with the eight of them, while Beca and Chloe held onto everyone's tickets and necessary items to get onto the plane. Though, Anne paid for the plane tickets, which meant they got first class seating with individual chairs, TVs, soft cushions, and they were the first in line for drinks and full meals were included for only a four-hour flight. Which was the beginning of everything Beca hated. The pampering, the money. She just didn't see how it was worth getting everything handed to you on a silver platter. Quite literally. Growing up, she avoided using her mother's money whenever she could. She got herself a regular job in high school and saved her money to buy a broken Jeep that she fixed herself. She hardly acted like an Alpha should, which was another reason this week would be hell. Her mother expected her to represent the house, which meant acting the part.

When the plan loaded in, Stacie stole Chloe from Beca and sat next to Chloe, or as next to as first-class seating allowed. It was more like two private seats that were across from each other. Close enough to talk, at least, "I just wanted to warn you." Stacie said as she watched to make sure Beca had moved on to find other sitting with Emily.

"Warn me?" Chloe asked, her eyes narrowing at the serious tone Stacie had.

"Beca's mom… has expectations," Stacie said it slowly as the roar of the plane started, "Beca might not act so much like herself this week. It's not because she wants to or because she's different. It's just how our society is, okay? It would be much worse if Beca didn't act like an Alpha."

"Act like an Alpha…" Chloe regurgitated the words back to Stacie and almost asked it as a question.

Stacie gulped, "Beca's really lenient. She's strict when she has to be, but deep down she's got a heart of gold." Stacie side eyed Beca from across the plane than gave Chloe a serious look, "She's not like any other Alpha or any other wolf, to say the least. Just, do me a favor and follow her lead. Just for the week. You'll understand when we get there."

"Okay." Was all Chloe could say before the plane took off and she'd spend the rest of the plane thinking about what Stacie said. This trip was most obviously a stressful time for Beca and it surely wouldn't be the vacation that Chloe wished it was. Atlanta was a practically a dead zone when it came to wolves. Chloe had never been around other wolves before and she wasn't sure how to handle the knowledge that she'd be around Anne's entire pack, if not more. Besides that, Beca was acting weird about the entire thing and everyone else who came from Maine seemed to have the same mindset. Something was wrong and in four hours or less, she'd find out.

Most of the pack were asleep when the plane touched down in Portland, only waking up to the jolt that came with the touchdown. They were out of the plane quick and their bags were the first to arrive on the platform. They made it through the arrival much faster than Chloe ever had when traveling between home and school and before she knew it they were walking outside to see Portland. The city was beautiful and the air smelled fresh and crisp, much different than what Chloe had experienced anywhere else she had been. But then again she hadn't been far from Atlanta since she'd been a wolf. As they walked out, clouds covered the sky and rain came pouring down. Chloe watched as the wolves put their noses to the sky all at once and it was the first and only time they had smiled since they'd left the apartment. If Beca had missed anything at all from Maine it was the beautiful landscape and the wolves. She didn't need them to survive, but she missed the population of wolves that lived only in Maine. Up in the northern state, it wasn't often that they had to hide away. There were many parties and days that they could be themselves without ever running into a human. Some of the small towns in Maine only populated by wolves, in fact. If there was anything Beca missed at all, it was that.

Outside, they were picked up by a long black car with a chauffeur to open the door and take their bags. Chloe could see the disdain on Beca's face as she waved him off so she could take care of her own items - specifically the bag that Chloe knew held her mixing equipment. It was a rather silent few hour drive to Anne's house, the only conversation happened when Emily noticed they were getting close - which they all knew when they'd gotten so far into the forest that the towns were no longer visible through the back of the car. Emily bit her lip as she looked out the window and turned back to Beca, "Uh, Beca?" She coughed and the pack looked up to her, "Eyes..." She mumbled.

"Right," Beca nodded and blinked. At once, her eyes twisted from blue to red in the blink of an eye. Chloe watched one by one as the pack changed their eye color to that of their wolf. Beca turned to Chloe and Aubrey and added, "Do you think you can?" Chloe and Aubrey nodded and turned their eyes along with the rest of the group to match, "You'll understand in a minute." Beca looked out the window and watched as the car turned off the road and onto a more familiar one in through the tree line. Chloe watched too as they turned into a huge forest that led in the mountain line that practically reached the clouds. Rain blurred the view through the windows, but still, it was gorgeous. Thunder rumbled through the trees and the rain made the forest bloom a darker green.

All of the newer pack members were surprised by the wolves that walked along the grounds and trails that all led back to the huge ranch at the end of the concrete road. The house was a huge, mansion style home with a large garden in front and two garages on the right side of the house where the driveway pulled in. The size alone caused Luke to drop his jaw. The place was basically its own zip code with huge windows and elegant designs. Chloe thought the house was a beautiful place, but Beca still frowned at their arrival. The car came to a halt and the driver put it in park. The pack got out of the car were met with a small group of people, all with the eyes of wolves. Their eyes faced the floor as they approached, "Alphas," The one in the front kept his eyes toward the gravel as he approached Beca and Chloe, he was a Beta. One Chloe could only assume was from Anne's pack. His hair was dark and shaved on the sides. His eyes were glowing yellow. He was wearing a dark blue flannel with jeans and a nice tee shirt. It was only then that Chloe aimed to take in the outfit her girlfriend had chosen. It was a blazer and long pants that only made Beca look more authoritative than she really was.

Beca only rolled her eyes, "We'll take care of our bags, Eli. Tell my mother I don't want any of you helping us." She said as she took her bag from the driver as he took them out of the trunk.

"She said you would say that…" The beta mumbled, "She said to help you anyway."

Beca rolled her eyes and offered him a smaller bag that she had in one of her hands, "Insistent?" Beca asked.

"Very," Eli confirmed, finally taking the risk to glance at Beca and take the smaller bag.

Beca pulled back on the bag, causing Eli to look up and into her eyes, "Eli, it's me." Beca pushed for eye contact and Chloe watched intently while the others grabbed their bags, "I'm not my mother." She let go of the bag and handed out other bags to the Betas the waited next to Eli.

"It's good to have you home, Beca," Eli grinned playfully and Beca smiled back at him and even though Chloe could tell it was rather forced, she was glad Beca was smiling.

"Can't say it's good to be here, but it's good to see you," Beca smirked as they left the car and went for the garage.

"West Wing." Eli directed the helpers into the house by typing in a code and opening the three-door garage.

The pack followed shortly behind Eli and he moved from the garage to the inside of the house. Though, Beca stopped before she could get into the house. The garage was lined with beautiful, expensive cars that her mother owned, but in the back, under a tan tarp, Beca caught something out of the corner of her eye. She walked over to it and her pack followed her as she took the tarp off an old beat up blue Jeep Wrangler, "Holy shit." Beca mumbled.

"I knew you'd want me to keep it." Beca and her friends turned to find Anne standing in the doorway to the garage and smiling at the beat up car. Anne was more dressed up than Chloe remembered her being before. She was wearing a white button down and a blazer of her own and Chloe couldn't help but compare Beca to her mother in those outfits. They looked similar and at the same time, Chloe could tell how different they were.

"I just…" Beca looked over her old car, "I didn't think you would."

"Keys are inside of you want to take it for a drive after you get settled," Anne told her. Beca took another look over the car then walked to the doorway to meet with her mother, her pack following closely behind.

Anne stepped away and held the door out for everyone as they came inside to the first room in the house, the mudroom. It was rather small in comparison to the rest of the house, but beautiful to say the least. Cabinets of shoes of all kinds and sizes as well as a few other outdoor materials. Past the mudroom, the house was grand. They were coming in the back way, which was through the kitchen. The kitchen was gigantic and could feel a feast if it needed to. It was filled with stainless steel appliances, long white cabinets, granite countertops, and beautiful tile floors. People Chloe had not yet gotten the chance to meet were cooking something that smelled delicious. Chloe could see past the kitchen and she could see a living room area with a huge fireplace. The house was practically a castle compared to the few bedroom house she lived in with her parents and her brothers growing up. She couldn't imagine what it was like for Beca to grow up there. Anne didn't stop leading them until they had made it to the front door which came into a huge set of stairs that went up to a landing and split the house in two.

"Let me get a look at you," Anne turned to Beca and took grabbed onto both of her hands. Beca staggered as Anne pulled her forward and took a long look at her. Anne looked her up and down and Chloe felt the need to look at the floor when she examined the bite mark on her daughter's neck, "Beautiful." Anne whispered under her breath, "I missed you so much."

"Mom, stop." Beca murmured, pulling her hands from her mother's grip.

Anne shook her head out of the trance and moved on to the redhead next to Beca, "Chloe." She smiled with all of her teeth, "It's so good to see you." She pulled Chloe into an unexpected hug, though Chloe took it really well and almost immediately hugged Anne back.

"It's so great to see you," Chloe backed out of the hug and got a good look at Anne's red eyes. She could see why Emily had them switch before arriving, considering everyone in the house wore their wolf eyes.

Anne took Chloe's wrist and twirled her around in a circle, "You are absolutely gorgeous my dear," and she winked, "Red eyes look good on you."

"Thank you," Chloe mumbled awkwardly, thinking back on the two-month process of getting her here. She couldn't believe it. If someone had asked her a few months ago if she'd believe in all of this, she would have said no. She heard Beca take a sharp, almost irritated breath in.

"Alright, so we'll go settle in," Beca announced, pulling Chloe along with her in an attempt to escape.

Chloe, not trying to be rude, didn't come right away to Beca's pull. Anne waved her on though, "Dinner will be ready in a bit. Go get washed up and we'll talk later." Chloe nodded and followed Beca, who was already on the first landing and headed to the west wing.

"I'm sorry, have we met?" Beca stopped at the top of the stairs and Chloe followed her dagger eyes down to Luke who was just walking up to pass Anne.

"I don't believe so, my name is Luke. I'm kind of new." Luke stumbled through the sentence awkwardly as he tried to explain himself. Chloe could see the way Anne was eyeing the mating mark. Chloe knew what Anne was thinking. Chloe and Beca had mating marks to match, but Luke was the only other one who had one, as he and Jesse had a while before they were ready for that step. At this point, they were just getting to know one another. Luke didn't even really understand much about the mating mark.

Anne gave Beca a cocked eyebrow before returning to Luke, "It's lovely to meet you."

"Likewise." Chloe also noticed how hard it was for Luke to look at Anne. She'd only felt that kind of feeling a few times of being a wolf and all of those times had come from Beca and her relationship. She couldn't imagine feeling like she couldn't look any Alpha in the eye and she hated that her Betas had to put up with it.

Upstairs was a long hallway leading to the master bedroom with plenty of doors to a variety of bedrooms and a few bathrooms. Chloe could've sworn they passed a library, but she was in such a rush to catch up with Beca, she didn't have time to look, "You all can pick from any of the rooms on this side. My mother only uses the East wing anyhow." Beca continued the walk into the master bedroom and Chloe followed, while the rest of the pack split off into various rooms along the way.

The master bedroom was an elegant room with a four post bed with silk blue curtains the shielded it from the rest of the world. The room was painted white and it was huge for even the master bedroom. There was a desk in one corner, a TV on the other, and two double doors that seemed to go out onto an outdoor porch or balcony. The only thing in the room that for sure identified the place as Beca's childhood room was the mixing setup that the lined one of the walls. Beca pushed aside the silk lining of the bed and threw herself on the bed in a huff and Chloe watched with a small smirk on her face. After throwing her bags to the side, the redhead flopped onto the bed in the opposite direction. While Beca laid the right way, Chloe laid upside down and met Beca somewhere in the center. Beca turned to her and their faces were only inches apart in what looked to be a Spider-Man position, "What're you doing?" Beca asked, a suspicious look on her face.

Chloe rubbed a hand through her mates hair, "We're bonding," She joked, "You seem so tense, do you need a backrub?"

Beca pulled away from Chloe's hand and shook her head, "No. I'm fine, thanks."

Chloe sighed and added, "Baby, do you want to tell me what's really going on? I know that you don't like visiting your mom…"

"It's not really about my mom. I love my mom," Chloe thought she could physically see Beca's walls crumbling, "It's just this society. It's the reason I left. I mean, the eyes?" Beca looked at her and pointed to the Alpha marking trait, "It's to reinforce the hierarchy." Her shoulders slouched, "In most packs here, they treat Betas like slaves." Beca spat the words, "My pack is my family. An Alpha isn't there to control them, my job is to protect them."

"You never really told me why we're here." Chloe rubbed Beca's shoulders as they talked.

"I made a deal that if my mom stayed up here until the eclipse, we'd come to the ceremony." Beca mumbled, "And I'd represent the house."

"Why didn't you want her to come down?" Chloe asked, their eyes finally meeting.

Beca took a deep breath, "If my mom had come back and seen we hadn't…" Beca looked at Chloe's mating mark and Chloe nodded for her to continue, "She would've been pissed. I was biding time."

"Can we fight it?" Beca furrowed her brow and Chloe added, "How Betas are treated, I mean."

"I've tried," Once again Chloe hated the way she could see Beca look so defeated, "There are not enough wolves who agree with us. The only way to win the game is just to play it better."

"Then we'll play it better." Chloe confirmed, "Whatever we have to do until we can go home."

"Are you sure?" Beca asked, "I hate that I dragged you into all of this and what my mom's expecting me to do Chloe… It's not at all who I am."

Chloe kissed Beca's forehead, "We're in this together, baby. Always."

"I'm going to have to represent the house, which means you will too so you should be aware," Beca looked over all disappointed, "Since the bond is kind of like a marriage, they might call you by the Mitchell name."

Chloe pulled Beca's chin up to look at her once again, "I always thought your name would sound better anyway," Chloe kissed Beca, "I love you."

"I love you too." Beca pulled away, "How did I get so lucky?"

Chloe only grinned, "We need to get ready for dinner and you need to tell me more about the Jeep in the garage."


	20. Chapter 20 - We Look Like Lightning

**Hia... I know. I'm sorry. It's been days. This chapter got way... out of hand. I had to split it up into two chapters. I was going to get into more here but I'm still not done with the other part yet and it was wayyy over my usual page count per chapter soooo be prepared for another chapter soon!**

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So, Luke seems to have Jesse's scent all over him, hm?" It was after dinner when everyone had moved out to the underground pool. A few members of Anne's pack had joined them for dinner, but not very many and not members that Beca had known very well either besides Eli. Younger kids or older wolves mostly. It had been an awkward meal that could've fed fifty more people than they had and Beca could've sworn her mother was trying to show off. After dinner, Beca shower the Jeep off to the new members of the pack and explained how she had practically built the thing from the ground up to prove she didn't need her family money. Anne still didn't understand why she hadn't used the money on a brand new car at sixteen,, but agreed to disagree. After taking the Jeep for a joyride with Chloe and their pack, Anne had offered the pool, knowing full well Beca wasn't the swimming type. She wanted to use the opportunity to talk to Beca alone, while her pack all swam and she sat poolside. On top of that, the pool was just another extravagance of the ranch. It backed up to the forest with a beautiful view of the mountains. The forest was so thick that no one from the road could see them even if they did switch forms in the backyard. Once again it was something Beca had missed. Atlanta didn't have the forest space for them to go on proper runs and it didn't give the newer members of the pack exposure to others like them. It was a complicated love and hate relationship that Beca had with her childhood home. It was like running into an old ex, a flood of happy memories that also meant a heartbreaking kind of pain, "It seems a bit possessive."

"Well, he is his mate." Beca rolled her eyes at the statement. It took almost everything she had to look away from Chloe in that navy bikini while she dove into the cool water. Beca took her sunglasses off to look over at her mother, who had daggers staring through her already.

"Right.. but you and Chloe's scents compliment one another while theirs seems a bit… one-sided." Anne observed and Beca once again rolled her eyes.

"Just get to the point, mom. I know Jesse lost control. There's nothing more to the story." Beca went back to watching her mate closely and making sure no other eyes were on Chloe.

"Nothing more to the story means you didn't do anything about it. You know that you have to reprimand Betas to teach them a lesson." There it was. The lecture.

"Perhaps. But my kind of punishment doesn't have to be physical." Beca cocked an eyebrow at her mother. Beca was asserting her dominance as the Alpha of her pack now.

Anne looked away to the view of the forest around them, "You'll have to watch over them tomorrow." Now, this was less of Anne's Alpha and more of Beca's mother, "And I trust you remember how to represent the house?"

Beca swallowed, "I know."

"Good." Anne put her sunglasses on and picked up a magazine beside her, "Congratulations, by the way. No mating ceremony? I figured your own mother would be invited-"

"No. If I have a ceremony, it will be a wedding and if you're lucky you'll be invited." Beca rolled her eyes at her mother's tone.

"A wedding? Really? A mating ceremony would be much more fit. You know the council elders will expect one from a future member of the council, especially considering you're to uphold the legacy of both houses," The words, despite their aggressive behavior, didn't phase Anne. She continued reading.

"If I join the council," Beca muttered.

Anne nearly choked on Beca's words, "Don't be ridiculous, Beca, of course, you'll join the council. Your birthright."

Beca watched as Eli got out of the pool to dry off with his feet still dipped in. Beca used it as an escape and got off her lawn chair, giving her mother one last glare before she left. She had truly missed Eli. He was only a few years younger than Beca and they had practically grown up together, "Hey," She said, dipping her feet into next to his.

The Beta looked up for a second and had trouble making eye contact. This was apart of wolf nature. Beca instinctually walked and held herself as an Alpha should. Even in human form, she had a straight posture and held her head high. Alpha's naturally releases pheromones that dictated their dominance in addition to their eye color. It was apart of a Betas gut reaction to submit to an Alpha. Which was one of the reasons Anne preferred wolf eyes over human eyes. She wanted to enforce the hierarchy that composed to Betas submitting to Alphas. In wolf society, it was the Alphas way of ensuring that Betas _never forgot their place_. Eli shook his head out of it rather quickly though and met Beca's stare with a smile, "Needed to get away?" He asked, nodding towards the interaction Beca just had with her mother.

Beca chuckled, "That obvious?" In some ways, Beca wished Eli had joined her pack way back before Beca left, it would have done him well to have an Alpha that didn't enforce such absolute submission. But she knew that would have meant Eli leaving much of his family, including an older sister who had picked long before Eli knew what he was talking about. Besides, Anne wasn't a bad Alpha. She was somewhere in between the traditions of the Elders and Beca's own liberalisms.

"You have the look of dread," He joked and splashed his legs around, "So what's up my legacy Alpha, how you been?"

Beca cringed at the nickname. It was one she had got as a little kid because she was the first kid born from two of the twelve on the council, "It's been good," She took a deep breath, "Yeah it's been kind of busy and insane, but great."

Eli smiled as she talked, "Yeah, I, Uh, meant to tell you. Congratulations." Eli nodded towards the mating mark as clear as day on Beca's neck, though fading more into a scar than a current wound. It felt strange to come back to Maine, after everything they had been through in the last few months. Her wolf felt proud coming home with a mate, _a claim, _to which she could show off. Logistically, Beca knew Chloe was her own being with her own freedoms that Beca would never impede on and not a prized hunt, but Beca couldn't shake her instincts away. Since she had left home, she'd doubled her pack members and claimed her mate. If anything, she lived up to the legacy title, which made returning to home an inch easier. Even if that meant seeing people she didn't want and representing the house.

"Thanks." Beca smiled, awkwardly. She had never been very good at such things. The mating mark was practically like showing off a new engagement ring to her friends and family. Beca was never good at such social extravagances. That was another reason Beca hated the Lunar Eclipse Ceremony and other social events. It meant social interaction with people Beca would rather not and enforcing the hierarchy. It meant suits and ties, dresses and gowns. Beca's eyes fell on the redhead across the pool who felt a bit different to Beca than she usually did.

"Hey, babe," Chloe's voice had a rigid sound to it as she approached Beca in the pool and wrapped her hands around the brunette's waist. Beca almost immediately opened her legs and wrapped them around her mate in response, scooting away from the edge of the pool to avoid the little waves that Chloe had made.

"Hey," Beca gave her a half-hearted smile and leaned back on the palms of her hands, "I never really got to introduce you two, huh? Chloe, this is Eli, he's in mother's pack. We grew up together. Eli this is Chloe, my mate." Beca felt the way Chloe held tight to her thigh as she looked over at Eli and smiled. The redhead smiled with all of her teeth, but Beca could see the way Chloe's jaw was unhinged from her mouth. Beca cocked an eyebrow at her girlfriend as she realized for the first time since Chloe turned, Beca couldn't feel how Chloe felt. Beca couldn't help but wonder whether Chloe was keeping her feelings from Beca or if she was suppressing the feelings she had.

"It's a pleasure," Chloe said and Beca noticed that Eli couldn't look Chloe in the eye.

Eli coughed, "The pleasure is all mine." Beca frowned at the way the Beta covered his nose. Beca herself couldn't smell it, but she assumed it was the mix of her and Chloe's scents.

"Becs, baby, a word?" Chloe asked, her strawberry eyes panning back to her mate. Beca could only manage a nod before Chloe was getting out of the pool. Beca watched as Chloe pushed herself up on her forearms and out of the water, dripping wet from the pool. The Brunettes throat went dry just watching the sight before her. Chloe's bathing suit hardly covered what was necessary and the gravity of the wet bathing suit pulled her top down further. As she watched, Beca could feel her jealousy rising to the surface. Chloe got out of the pool and pulled Beca by her wrist away from Eli and into the house. Though, Chloe didn't stop there.

"Chlo? Hey, what's going on?" Beca asked as they trudged through the house and up to the west wing, to Beca's childhood room. Beca had hardly any time to process it before she was slammed against the master bedroom door, which Chloe had locked on their way in. Before Beca came to her senses, Chloe's lips were on hers in a _bruising _and _possessive _open mouth kiss. Chloe pinned her arms down to the door, giving Beca absolutely no ability to escape even if she wanted to. Chloe's strength as an Alpha was unbelievable. Beca couldn't do anything, couldn't think of anything, but to _give in to her Alpha's wishes. _At her submission, Chloe placed a hand over the thin lining of Beca's bathing suit while keeping both of Beca's hands pinned above her head.

"I don't know what you think you were doing," The redhead's words came out in a reprimanding tone, scolding Beca for her actions in between smoldering kisses that left the two of them breathless. Beca gulped at the looking Chloe's eyes - a look of pure dominance. Chloe's movements were rough and daring. Her grip on Beca's wrists was enough to leave bruises on them later, while her hand between Beca's thighs moved up and down the length of Beca's sex, "But you're mine and no one else's." Beca tried to understand what Chloe was saying, to focus on her words or trying to say between the hickies she was leaving on Beca's neck and chest. At that, Beca could only assume that Chloe was jealous of Eli and therefore her instincts kicked in to claim Beca all over again, "You belong to me, do you understand?" Beca had never been commanded her entire life. She'd never felt so vulnerable, so _owned. _All at the same time she wanted to _claim _Chloe and _submit _to her.

Instinctually, Beca leaned her head to the side to show Chloe the mating mark, "Yours." She confirmed in a breathless, obedient moan. Both the sound of her voice and her position, pinned against the door, gave Chloe the submission that she demanded. Chloe leaned in a bit down hard, turning the mating mark from a scar to a new wound all over again. Beca whimpered and whined at the pain of Chloe's canines sinking into her pale skin. Chloe didn't let go for a long time and her grip on Beca's wrists didn't let up until she was satisfied with the bite itself. When Chloe finally backed away, her lips had small drops of blood on the edges of her mouth and Beca could feel blood dripping down her own neck. When Chloe was done, both girls were breathless and panting, "Chlo?" Beca asked it in an innocent, soft voice and the sweet sound caught Chloe's attention. Chloe looked back at Beca and the blood dripping down her chest, "Alpha, May I.. have my hands back?" She bit her lip at the question, feeling Chloe's eyes rip through her. The question seemed to be acceptable to the Alpha as she realized she was still holding Beca down and loosened her grip as an answer, "Thank you." Beca mumbled.

Chloe shook her head back to reality and her eyes stared intently at the mating mark, realizing how painful it must've been to take, though Beca was more than willing to take it, "I'm sorry." She whispered, her energy so low that even her eyes went back to their cerulean color.

Beca chuckled, "It's alright." The blood started to trickle down Beca's neck and Chloe had her lie down while she found the material to clean it up, "Chloe, I said I was fine."

"It's my mess, let me clean it up." The words came out like more of a command and Beca didn't have much of a choice than to comply.

"Are you Alright?" Beca asked as Chloe wiped the blood away.

"Yeah…" Chloe mumbled, "I guess I'm just not used to you being around other wolves I don't know." There was a hint of insecurity hidden under her jealousy that made Beca quirk a smile.

Beca nodded, "I'm sorry," Beca swallowed, "Maybe I should keep my distance for a while. This is all still really new to me too."

Chloe finished with the wound and laid down next to her mate, "I just can't help myself. All I could think is that he shouldn't touch what doesn't belong to him."

Beca kissed Chloe, "I'm yours, baby," She let the words sink before saying, "We'll need to be careful tomorrow. You won't be able to pull me away like that." Chloe nodded and pulled Beca closer, "Are you gonna be able to handle this? There's going to be plenty more people. Alphas too."

"I can handle it, baby, It's just a new adjustment," Chloe confirmed, placing another kiss on Beca's cheek. Beca only nodded and laid her head on Chloe's shoulder. She wanted to enjoy the few moments of peace they had before tomorrow began and Chloe had to face yet another reason Beca was wary about bringing her into this life in the first place.


	21. Chapter 21 - Bastards, Vultures, Wolves

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The ceremony was held deep in the woods of Maine near the bottom of the mountains. It was a spot uninhabited by humans and far enough away not to worry about them. The trees were hung with lights that twinkled on the forest floor in shades of yellow and purple, with hues of green in between the shadows of trees. The dark woods quickly was quickly turned into a hidden, sparkling cove of wonders to behold. From the lanterns and candles to the lightning bugs, it was an alluring and beautiful sight. It was an outside oasis catered with tables of fancy food, drinks, and a DJ. Throughout a small clearing of trees, tables circled around a dance floor. In the clearing, the full moon was a dazzled sight, beaming down like a spotlight rising into the sky with nightfall.

Wolves and wolf children ran around the party in herds and packs of all different types. Because they were still growing, they had a mix of features to them. Some boys and girls had wolf ears, others had claws instead of fingernails, some sharp canines bigger than their human mouths, and others had fully transformed. The kids ran around chasing each other, in part ruining the suits and dresses they had warm to the thriftless event. The adults, on the other hand, tidied their outfits and mingled with one another while sipping on drinks that were probably ten times stronger than a drink made for a human. Teenagers mimicked the adults in their own circles of fancy attire, giggling amongst themselves and greeting those who they had not seen in months. Adults and teens alike were all in human form, allowing them to talk to those who were not in their pack. There must've been hundreds of wolves there and Chloe was overwhelmed by the sheer amount of wolves in one place as she most definitely had underestimated how grand of an event it was. After all, it was a three-day total event including a day of preparation, the Lunar Eclipse itself, as well as a day after for a post-Eclipse party, which Beca had explained was a less formal occasion at her mother's house for anyone still in the area after the eclipse. Due to the enforced Hierarchy, Chloe could tell not just the difference between Beta and Alpha, but she could also see who had presented and who had not.

Before they left, Beca had given Chloe, Aubrey, Benji, and Luke a crash course on how they should behave. She explained that the Wolf Society had different rules than the rules Chloe and Beca had agreed on for their pack. She told them that Wolf Society expected full compliance of Betas when they received an order from an Alpha and that Alphas were much more strict than Beca was. Beca gave them an order, though, not to listen to any Alpha that was not her or Chloe, as no other Alpha had the right to give them such. Additionally, Beca told them to protect themselves and one another as best they could and if they could manage it, stay nearby. Just in case. It would be a hectic night and Beca couldn't handle it if something went wrong.

Beca also had a hand in each of their outfits for the evening, telling them all that it was important that they played the game the right way. Each of the ladies wore a dress, long ones and a variety of colors that uniquely showed off the location of their brands. The men wore suits, ties, button downs, and other formal which matched their mates in color and revealed their own brands. All of the wolves that were turned from human to wolf Beca had wear a bracelet, watch, or another accessory that hid the bite mark on their wrists. She told them the truth about the way the Wolf Society looked down on turned wolves in ways she didn't want to kill someone over, which she would to defend her pack. Beca had Chloe wear a long black, sparkling dress that wrapped around her neck and left her shoulders bare to reveal her brand and her neck open to show over the mating mark. Beca herself wore a button down shirt and a bowtie, leaving her own neck and shoulder for the world to see. The pack understood that Beca wasn't happy with the clothes they had to wear or the game they were about to partake in. They all tried to give Beca a shred of reassurance that it was alright. That they would survive the night and be far away from Maine in just a few days. Beca briefed them and explained that anything she did at the ceremony that did not reflect her usual behavior would just be for the night. The pack seemed to accept that as the truth.

"Relax," Stacie mumbled to Chloe from beside the redhead, holding her hand to steady Chloe from shaking, "Beca's just taking extra precautions." A few eyes landed on the group as they stepped across the treeline threshold and into the party. Beca led the pack, of course, and held Chloe's hand. Chloe followed just a step behind the Alpha and Stacie held Chloe's other hand as the rest followed the Alpha couple.

"Has she always been this tense at these gatherings?" Chloe whispered back, her eyes darting through the crowd of red and yellow eyes.

Stacie sighed, "She never had much to protect before. The last time we came to one, she was under eighteen." Stacie felt Aubrey grab her other hand from behind her as she spoke, "I guess truth be told, yes, she's always been this tense. I just couldn't feel it before."

That was the truth. Walking into that party, the entire pack could feel Beca's unease. And with each moment that passed and every step they walked further into the luxurious party, the feeling got worse. As they passed a pack with an older Alpha leading them, Beca cringed at the matching cuffs that dawned his Betas wrists. A gut-wrenching feeling passed through everyone that followed Beca deeper into the woods. Chloe looked back at Stacie, "The cuffs?" She asked in a hushed voice.

Stacie took a deep breath in, "You'll see them around. It's another form of ownership." Stacie spat the words in a whisper, eyeing the party to ensure no one heard them, "It's barbaric, but there's not enough support to abandon the tradition. Especially considering the council is filled with Alphas that use the cuffs. Beca's parents are the only ones on the council who fight against it and even they still believe in the enforced hierarchy. The Elders would rather keep Betas as slaves than give them freedom. Not so many generations ago they only allowed Alphas to breed. Beca just so happens to be the only Alpha who believes in Betas rights and matters in the eyes of the council. Beca has no urge to join them, though she's the only I think could bring change to the community.

Stacie stopped talking when the group entered the clearing in the trees and approached a platform that had been built to sit above everyone else. On the platform was a semi-circle of chairs around a table. It was the council of elders, ten of which were old men, one of which was Beca's mom, and the other was a younger man whom Chloe had never seen before but could only assume was Beca's father. Chloe could see where Beca got her other traits from if they hadn't come from her mother. Beca had gotten his kind eyes and gentle smile for sure, even if Beca had chosen to hide them more often than not. He must've been in his mid to late forties. His hairline was receding and wrinkles covered his forehead.

"Presenting Mrs. and Mrs. Mitchell, and their pack." Chloe hadn't even seen the young man standing at the edge of the treeline before her spoke, announcing their entrance to the Elders.

Anne smiled proudly at her daughter as they approached the center of the clearing. While the Betas of Beca and Chloe's pack put their eyes to the floor, the two Alpha's looked over the Elders. Chloe followed Becas lead as Beca bowed cordially before the council, "Beca, it is so good to have you home, in the North. How have your travels been?" An elder, on the opposite side from Beca's parents, spoke up first, a long smile on his face.

Beca took a deep breath and nodded to the Elder with a respectful bow of her head, "It has been something else, Sire."

He nodded as Beca answered and added himself, "Good. I hope that means they are over and you have come to take your place on the council?"

Beca looked down at the floor, "Not quite, Sire. I've expressed it before, but I have no interest in taking a seat on the council. I am here on my family's behalf, to represent the house. No more, no less."

"I see. what a disappointment," The Elder scratched under his chin.

"Congratulations are at hand," Another chimed in, throwing his glass to the air and toward the Alpha couple before them, "To the Mitchells."

"Thank you, Sire," Beca said the words and Chloe could feel Beca's skin boil.

The young wolf at the edge of the treeline, the announcer, brought forth another pack and Beca stepped off to the side followed by her pack. From there they moved on - to the party, to the other wolves, to intermingle with the fancy crowd, obtaining drinks and food along the way. In the process, the pack split up. They were never too far away from one another and they stayed in groups of two to be safe. The first little while, nothing too bothersome happened. Chloe and the other new members recognized the reasons Beca was so unhappy about attending the event. Vendors sold cuffs that they were advertised towards Alphas and only Alphas. The way some Alphas led their packs alone was enough to anger Chloe and Beca both. Betas in other packs were treated like slaves, there only to serve their Alphas every wish and need. Chloe could tell by the look on some of the creepy looks the Alphas gave that it was worse in some cases than others.

"So, the council is passed down through a family line, then," Chloe said it in the form of a statement, but it was an assumption she wanted Beca to confirm or deny.

"It is," Beca confirmed, leaning further on the outdoor bar and taking a large gulp of her drink to finish it off.

"And your mother and father are on the council." Chloe once again stated it, but this was a question. She wanted to know what Beca's feelings were towards the council and why she hadn't ever told Chloe that it was her birthright to eventually return to Maine to take a seat on the council.

"Yes, it is my birthright if that's what you're asking and no I don't want it," Beca sighed, "I didn't tell you because I didn't even want to talk about any of this," Beca mumbled that and before Chloe could press the issue, Beca's father approached them with a drink in his hand.

"Beca," He said, his eyes looking over the two of them and then he grinned, "It's so good to see you. When did you get in?"

Beca only nodded, "Yesterday. Staying with mom. Didn't want to inconvenience you and Shiela. Hey, how is the step-monster?"

"She's fine, thank you for asking." He said, taking a sip of his drink.

"No, dad, I didn't actually care. I just wanted to say step-monster." Beca rolled her eyes and Chloe raised an eyebrow at Becas sudden change of attitude.

"Beca, you can't blame me forever." He said, "I'm sorry for my daughter dear, you must be Chloe." He put out an arm and Chloe took is respectful, making sure to bow her head to Dr. Mitchell, taking note of the burning red of his eyes.

"It's a pleasure to meet you, Sire." Chloe smiled, gracefully.

"Hard to believe a kind girl like yourself is Beca's mate." He joked, "The pleasure is all mine, Chloe." Chloe took note of the way Beca rolled her eyes at his jokes, "She's a beautiful claim." He reverted his eyes back to Beca and Chloe could see the way Beca's shoulders tensed, "So what did your mother do to get you here, huh? Blackmail? It had to be something big if she got you to represent the house."

"Definitely blackmail. Pretty sure Beca Mitchell told me she'd never come to another Lunar Eclipse again," A voice cut into the conversation and Beca turned to meet its familiarity.

Standing before them, a younger man in his early thirties with ginger hair and the beginnings of a beard approached. His eyes a broad, cherry red. Beca's lips burst into a huge smile, one of the rare ones that Chloe had seen where Beca smiled with all of her teeth, "Uncle Jaymie!" She screeched and ran to her uncle. Jaymie opened his arms and Beca jumped into them. Jaymie swirled her around in a circle, lifting Beca entirely off her feet.

"Hey Kiddo," Jaymie smirked into her shoulder and let up but put his hands on her shoulders, "Damn, look at you." He brushed her hair off her shoulder to get a better look at her neck, "You have a mate?"

Beca took a step back and grabbed his hand, leading him back to wear Chloe stood by the bar, "Uncle Jaymie, meet Chloe Beale. Chlo, this is my Uncle Jaymie. He's mom's brother."

Chloe put out a hand and Jaymie loosely held onto it then kissed the top of her hand gently, "You are absolutely gorgeous. How did Beca get so lucky?" He smirked and Chloe's dimples showed when she blushed.

"I'm the one who got lucky." Chloe almost whispered it, her eyes falling back to Beca behind him.

"Uncle Jaymie's the one who taught me how to be a real Alpha," Beca whispered, only loud enough to be heard between the three of them, "He believes that Betas aren't owned, but protected."

Chloe turned her attention back to Jaymie, "It's an honor to meet the man who taught Beca so much." Chloe complimented as Jaymie dropped her hand.

"It's an honor to meet you, Mrs. Mitchell," Jaymie smirked at the two Alphas before him. Butterflies filled Chloe's stomach at the thought of being Mrs. Mitchell. At the thought of marrying Beca in their future.

"Omega, bitch! Get on your fucking knees." Chloe and Beca would've heard it from the other end of the earth and they both felt the drop in their stomachs. Beca was at it before Chloe could recognize that the feelings were coming from Emily.

Beca ran as fast as she could and Chloe followed behind, a bit slower in her high heels. By the time the Alphas made it to the commotion, a crowd had formed around them. In the center of that commotion was Emily, Benji behind her, and a young Alpha standing in front of both of them with red eyes that could've been burning off smoke. Beca didn't recognize him off the top of her head. He was young with long brown hair and clothes that matched his attitude. His suit was too long on him, his shoes too big and Beca suspected that he could never fill them anyhow. Upon entering the scene, Beca took a big step in front of Emily and therefore in front of her assaulter, "What's going on here?" She asked.

"What's going on here is your Omega Bitch is being disrespectful. She needs to be taught a fucking lesson." The Alpha spat at Beca and Beca swallowed back the growl in her throat. Beca took Emily's hands in her own at the words and squeezed her hands tight to comfort her. Chloe approached her from behind and stood next to Beca and Emily.

"What I think is that you shouldn't talk to what doesn't belong to you," Beca growled back, a hiss screeching from the back of her throat. As Stacie and Aubrey approached the scene from behind Emily and Benji, their eyes fell on the anger exuding from Beca. Aubrey had to admit, even standing behind Beca she felt the need to submit to her. Dominance slipped off Beca's skin in waves.

"Are you fucking kidding me?" The strange Alpha was in Beca's face now, his lip quivering upward to bare his teeth, "You're defending her? She got in my face and you're defending that… that… Omega?"

Beca pushed back and growled, causing the boy to back off just a bit, "I am her Alpha, She is mine. You have a problem with her, you have a problem with me. I will punish what is mine in my own way and you will stay away from my possessions. Understood?" The Alpha was practically cowering from the way Beca had backed him into the crowd that had gathered around them. Beca bared her teeth, scrunched her nose, and growled low in her throat. Her eyes panned over the boy and nearly slipped on the ground, "And I would think twice about calling what's mine an Omega, understood?" The Alpha only nodded and Beca pushed on his shoulder, causing him to fall to the ground. After which, Beca turned back to her pack, giving the crowd time to disperse. At this point, she realized that Chloe had already been comforting Emily and pushing comforting pheromones to the young wolf, "Are you alright?"

Emily managed to nod and Beca couldn't tell whether Emily had been upset by the other Alpha or nervous about Beca's reaction. The Beta couldn't meet Beca's stare. In fact, none of her Betas could, "Yes, Alpha."

Chloe and Beca shared a looked before Chloe asked, "What does Omega mean?"

"It's a slur." Stacie piped up and her words came out in a hiss, "It's a slur for the weakest wolf in a pack."

Finally, Emily looked up and Beca could see her chest moving up and down with how ragged her breath was, "Alpha?" Beca raised an eyebrow at the sign of respect. She could tell that Emily was in a daze from experience, "Will I be punished?"

"No, Emily, of course not." Chloe answered for Beca and Beca agreed with her immediately, "You can't be in trouble for him being a dick." Chloe smirked and Emily laughed for the first time.

"Alright, let's get Emily away from here and give her a fresh breath of air, huh?" Beca ushered her now full pack out towards an empty space in the dark and away from the rest of the party.

As soon as they reached the tree line, Emily took a huge deep breath in, which almost sounded like she was hyperventilating. Her chest rose and fell as Benji rushed an arm around her to comfort her. The rest of the pack stayed back to give her space to breath again, "Oh my god." She said, weeping, "He made me feel like I couldn't breathe, I couldn't move. All I could smell was just him." Emily brushed a hand through her hair and then put both hands on her knees to breathe easier.

"It's okay, it's alright." Chloe soothed, a hand over one of Emily's to help calm her nerves, "It's gonna be okay, sweetie. It's over."

_Can you handle this? _Beca made eye contact with Chloe as she intruded her thoughts, _I need to do damage control. _

_Of course, I got this. _Chloe confirmed.

Beca backed away from the group and turned on her heels back to the ceremony. As soon as she hit the tree line, Anne was on her, "Are you okay?" She asked.

Beca shook her head as they walked at a rather fast pace through the crowd, "No. He's lucky I didn't fucking kill him. Who the hell is he?"

Anne took a second to respond, "He's a legacy. He's a Jacobson." Anne stuttered, "His grandfather is on the council."

Beca stopped and whipped around to her mother, their faces only inches apart, "You've got to be kidding me," Anna shook her head, "What is he saying?"

"He's saying that Emily started a fight, he wants to bring it to the council," Anne muttered the words and Beca rolled her eyes.

"Of course he fucking does." Beca spat under her breath, "Did they give a response?"

"They want to hold talk to you and Chloe. She's been accused."


	22. Chapter 22 - Came Out Swinging 2

Hello All! I regret to inform you that this will be the last chapter of wolves! FRET NOT. I am thinking of making this into a two-part story, coming out with a sequel.

Follow me on Tumblr ezrajclarke. Thank you for all your support!

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Please review if you want this to happen!"We recognize that a Beta disrespecting an Alpha, a legacy at that, is against wolf law," Beca stated it slowly, her words dripping out of her mouth like a melting icicle, falling before the heat of summer. She and Chloe were standing before the council the morning in between the welcome party and the Lunar Eclipse Ceremony. The council wanted to take care of the situation rather quickly and settle it, knowing everyone at the party had seen the fight and expected it to be handled properly. Which was why they were at the same location as the party, up as early as the sun and sitting before the council. Once again, the council had set up at the crescent row looking down on Beca and Chloe as they stood before them, "But we also recognize that as Emily's Alphas, we reserve the right to punish her as we see fit."

What pissed Beca off the most about attending a trial for Emily before the council, was that Emily was not allowed to be there or anywhere near the vicinity. She couldn't defend herself to the council and they had no care in the world about what really happened. In a situation like this, Beca couldn't defend Emily's actions or explain the situation. It wasn't about whether the Alpha that attacked Emily was wrong, it was about the fact that a Beta called the Alpha out and spoke against him in any way even if the Beta was right. Which left Beca with one single choice, to apologize profusely and find a way to avoid a public punishment during the Eclipse Ceremony, that Beca was supposed to be representing the house at. Just another thing to add to Beca's nerves, having to represent the family name in front of those she really would rather not even be near, "Yes, while that's true, this is a matter between packs and regardless of any Alpha, the council controls all civil suits between packs." It was, of course, Elder Jacobson who spoke up, the one member of the council Beca was sure was against them.

"I want her punished properly." The Jacobson kid added from across the way of Beca and Chloe, "She deserves a bite."

"Do you want to know what-" Beca could hear the growl in the back of Chloe's throat.

Beca put a hand on Chloe's shoulder, "All due respect," Beca cut Chloe off before she said something she couldn't take back, "I'd like the council to regard that Emily is not yet of age to truly understand respect."

"The girl took your brand and left home, that is of age enough to understand the respect an Alpha deserves." The young Jacobson added with a roll of his eyes. Beca and Chloe shared dismay for him.

Beca nodded cordially and continued, "Perhaps, but Emily devoted her loyalty to me early so she didn't miss me when I left Maine. That wasn't because she was old enough to know loyalty, that's because she wanted to give her loyalty to the legacy of two council Elders. She is still just a child. We would not punish a child with a bite before they learned the seriousness of what was being given to them."

"Are you saying you do not discipline your pack well enough to know not to challenge an Alpha?" This time it was a different elder, the eldest of them and one that defended the old way more than anyone.

"A mother can reprimand her child many times over and they still do it," Chloe added and her words were rewarded with a small smirk from Beca, her mother, and even her father, "Emily, even though she can be the sweetest, is going through a rebellious phase is all we're saying. I don't think a rebellious phase deserves a mark on her body that would last forever. Do you?" Chloe turned her attention to the young Jacobson boy, who was glaring at her.

A silence passed through them as the council talked quietly amongst them. In a stare, Beca analyzed her mother's face. It was not happy, nor upset, but Beca could tell the answer coming back to them was not one that Beca was going to like, "Fine." The eldest of the council stood up and looked over the three Alphas standing before the crescent table, "The council recognizes that the Beta in question is young. Therefore, for her reprimanding we leave the punishment to the Alphas, but give them two choices. To represent the Alphas lack of punishment for her actions, Beca will give her word to join the council when the time comes." Chloe could see the way Beca's back tensed, "If you choose not, then you will punish Emily with a bite." Chloe wanted to smack the smirk off the young Jacobson's face across the clearing, "You can give your choice tonight, Beca. The council is dismissed."

The next thing either girl knew, they were back at the house in the master bedroom in the west wing, alone. They hadn't talked to the pack when they got back, just went back to their room and shut the door. Chloe watched as Beca walked over to the bed and laid back. The brunette hadn't said a word since the council was dismissed. She hadn't talked to her mother or father afterward, choosing to give them the cold shoulder instead. Beca hadn't even spoken a word to Chloe afterward. Now they were sitting in their room and Beca ran both hands through her hair, letting out a groan in frustration, "I don't know how they planned this but they had to. They were waiting for a reason to call the council on me. They wanted to corner me into it."

Chloe sighed and came to sit next to her mate, her eyes looking over her lover's body, ending at her eyes that stared at the ceiling without giving any attention to Chloe at all, "Is it really such a bad thing?"

Beca looked at Chloe and narrowed her eyes, "I don't want to be on the council." Beca shrugged, "I never have. They just don't listen."

"You could make them listen." Chloe offered, grabbing both of Beca's hands, "Why don't you make them listen? Why don't _we_ make them listen? Think about it. With a seat on the council, you could provoke real change here."

"I don't know, Chlo. They're really stuck in their ways. You hardly know them and I've been around them my entire life. They hate change." Beca looked over the floor, "They did this because they know I won't let Emily get hurt but they've never had someone refuse a seat on the council. And I count as two refusals because of my parents."

A smile formed at the corners of Chloe's lips, "You know, I know a girl who's pretty stubborn." Beca looked up and into Chloe's now blue eyes, "She kind of refuses everything, especially what's expected of her." The redhead laughed, "It's really to do what's right, but she's always defying the odds. She doesn't like to put herself out there, but she's got a bigger heart than anyone I've ever met. Since the first day, I met her she's been saying no to everything fate and everyone else wanted to force on her." Beca rolled her eyes as she realized that Chloe was referring to her, "I love you, Beca. And sometimes you need a push. I think you should join the council. You can make a difference. You don't have to join them now. We'll travel the world first and when you're ready we'll come back and change the wolf world too."

"I love you too." Beca kissed her, but that's all she said. She gave no decision to Chloe about the council and the only hint of a decision Chloe got came when Beca told Emily that everything was going to be okay. Nothing else. Just that it would be alright. Which was followed up with an order to get ready for the Lunar Eclipse Ceremony. The pack silently agreed and got back into the black tie uniform such an occasion demanded. Of course, it couldn't be the same outfits they had worn the night before. No, the Lunar Eclipse demanded the expense be paid for different, extravagant dresses and suits that showed off the money that Anne and Beca put towards them. Beca could only assume it was another way of enforcing the fact that they were practically royalty in the wolf community and she hated it but went along for the sake of paying off the debt she owed her mother, per their deal. This night, though, Beca dawned two pendants on each side of her blazer, one of a red crescent moon and one of a pink lotus, each to represent the two houses of her family's. Additionally, she wore her hair up with a clip of a wolf. Her eye makeup was that of each house, a deep red that faded to light pink on the outer edges of her eyelid. She bought Chloe a dress that did the same, fading from a dark red to light pink. Both girls had necklines deep enough to reveal their mating marks and ways to reveal the pack crest.

Chloe could feel the difference in tension when they entered the ceremony for the second night. Instead of bright lights that resembled that of a party, the area was lined with torches which led them a particular way through. No longer was there music or refreshments when you walked in. The sound was replaced with the rush of wind that cut through their ears and blew the fire on the torches one way or another. This time, Beca wasn't holding her hand, but guiding her into the ceremony with a hand. _a possessive hand, _on the small of her back. This time, the rest of the pack entered in staggered trips of two, as couples, following a few steps behind their Alphas. This time, a distant drum lead them towards the location of the ceremony, putting a beat to their footsteps and hum to their march. Anne's pack followed behind Beca and Chloe's, followed by Beca's dad's pack - all of whom stood behind Beca and Chloe rather than their rightful Alphas. This time was different.

At the end of the torch path, the torches turned into a circle of fire and beyond the circle, Chloe could see the eyes of wolves peering through the darkness beyond. Beca took a step into the ring of Fire with Chloe and before the crescent moon that made the Council of Elders, their faces lit by candles around the table. Behind them, their pack scattered into the trees behind the fire, where Chloe could now tell was where the drum lay. As the packs split up around the circle, they transformed into their wolf forms, the sound of their bones cracking echoed through the crisp, cold air.

Finally, Beca took her hand from Chloe's waist and stepped closer to the council, "Council, Elders, Wolves," She announces, "I present to Thee, as the eldest and sole Heir of both houses, House Bolton and House Mitchell - Legacies of the Twelve and forever members of the high council." She looked around at the peering eyes and Chloe could feel her mate's anxiety at speaking to them, "It is with great honor that after much thought and travel, I have chosen to accept my birthright and inheritance. When it comes time, I will join the council." Once her speech had finished, Beca knelt on one knee and bowed her head to the shadowy faces of the twelve.

"Rise, Beca Anna Mitchell, heir to the council and sole Heir to House Bolton and House Mitchell." It was Anne who rose to her feet, allowing Beca to take back her standing position. Watching it all happen, Chloe wondered if Beca had ever représented the house before or if she had always refused to. Chloe could see why she didn't after all, having refused everything she was given as a child in support of Betas rights. It was kind of amazing how Beca pushed through it all despite how she truly felt. Beca rose and looked up at her mother, "Present." Anne put out a hand towards Chloe and Chloe's eyes went wide.

Beca turned and put a hand out to Chloe. Chloe took her hand and Beca pulled her to stand together, "I present to the Council, my mate, Chloe Mitchell." Chloe instinctually bowed her head to them, "and I request the council's approval of the mating."

Chloe furrowed a brow and looked back to the council. This time Beca's father stood from his chair, "Speaking for the council, but also as your father, we approve."

"Thank you," Beca bowed her head once more and Chloe followed her movements. Beca turned to Chloe and whispered, "time to turn," Chloe only nodded, feeling her entire heart beating out of her chest as she started to transform. Together they turned to their wolf forms. Once in form, Chloe followed Beca out of the circle into the hoard of thousands of wolves that stood around the clearing. Now, finally, Chloe took the chance to look up at the moon. The moon was rising just above the mountains and into the clearing of stars that filled the Maine sky. It rose a blood red, beautifully natural in the sky. Chloe stared at it from the sides of the clearing and turned to Beca, whose eyes and snout were on the same target. Chloe snuggled in under Beca's snout and licked it afterward _I love you_ she thought toward her lover.

_I love you too. _Beca licked beneath Chloe's ear in response.

_You made the right choice. _Chloe confirmed as she turned her attention back to the moon and laid down.

_I hope so _was all Beca could respond, but truly she knew it was right. She knew that later in the night her pack would have questions about why or how she came upon her decision and what that would mean for them. Beca also knew that by the end of the night, her ears would be bleeding with questions about their future. And truth be told, Beca didn't know the answer to all of them. She had no better answer than anyone else in the field did about the events to come. The only thing she knew how to do was to protect her own and live up to the standards she lived by. And in the end, it would work out some way or another. All she could do was try her best and with Chloe by her side, she felt like she could do that. If not for her, for her pack. For them. For everything she cared about. Maybe in the future, she could change the wolf Society. And standing there, in the crowd of wolves, watching the Lunar Eclipse, Beca felt like she could. A howling broke through the trees. A group howl that echoed with the wind. Beca put her nose in the air, smelling the fresh Maine air, and howled. A howl of an Alpha. A howl in the night. But most importantly, a howl of a wolf.


	23. Chapter 23 - AD

Hello All!

Thank you all for all of your support with this story. This story has officially been made into a sequel which you can find on my Author page, it's titled "It should've been us!" Thanks again for a really great journey here and I hope we can continue it with the next sequel! Thank you all for your reviews and Kudos. It really makes me proud to be an author. Hope you all continue onto the sequel with me and tell me what you think!


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